KARACHI: The value of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) got a major boost with the addition of two new franchises at a star-studded auction held at the Jinnah Convention Center on Thursday.

Two new PSL rights were acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers for Rs1.75 billion and Rs1.85 billion respectively.

The annual fee of the newly added owners is Rs 3.6 billion, which is 34 per cent more than the combined value of the top five teams – Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.

According to the details, United have the highest annual fee of Rs 780 million, among the top five owners, Calendars, who pay Rs 670 million annually, while Kings, Zalmi and Gladiators pay Rs 640 million, Rs 490 million and Rs 380 million respectively.

Meanwhile, Multan Sultans, who decided against renewing their franchise contract following the 10th edition of the marquee league, finally paid an annual fee of Rs1.08 billion.

As the annual fee was deemed to be increased by another 25 percent after the evaluation process, the franchise owners decided against renewing the contract citing financial losses.

“Despite financial losses year after year, I have never thought of walking away. Sultans has always meant more to me than numbers,” Sultans owner Ali Tareen said in a statement on social media.

As a result, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it will retain the rights to the historic PSL 11 ahead of its auction next year.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi made the announcement during a media conference last month.

“Multan Sultans will be run by the PCB this year. Once the PSL is over, we will go through the bidding process and put the franchise up for sale. However, this season, the board will run the Sultans,” Naqvi said.

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