LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday formally invited bids for the franchise of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans, issuing an advertisement to attract interested parties.
According to the PCB, prospective bidders can submit bids for the franchise rights of the 2021 champions.
The deadline for submission of documents for technical proposals has been fixed till January 30. Only technically qualified bidders will proceed to the next stage of the bidding process.
Earlier, reports suggested that the PCB is considering bidding for the franchise of Multan Sultans following the strong ratings received in the recent sale of two new PSL teams.
Last month, the board announced that it will take over control of Multan Sultans after the existing ownership agreement expires on 31 December 2025.
Under the initial plan, PCB was expected to operate the franchise for one year before putting it up for sale through auction in 2027.
If implemented, the arrangement is expected to save the board about $4 million annually because it will not have to provide $3 million from the central revenue pool or an additional $1 million in sponsorship funding.
However, an audit report noted that the PCB would waive $8.5 million in franchise fees for that year.
In November, Multan Sultan owner Ali Dareen announced via social media that he was stepping down from the franchise.
Sources indicate that relations between Tareen and the PCB had soured over the past year and eventually reached an irreparable point.
Multan Sultans were originally awarded the sixth PSL franchise to the Schon Group in a $5.2 million deal, the most expensive team at the time—more than double the acquisition cost of Karachi Kings, which stood at $2.6 million.
The decision to move towards the sale comes after the PCB secured strong ratings in the bids of two new franchises, Hyderabad and Sialkot, taking the total number of teams in PSL 11 to eight.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, while addressing a media conference on December 28, confirmed that the board will field Multan Sultans for the upcoming 11th edition of the PSL, scheduled to be held from March 26 to May 3, 2026, before starting the bidding process.
“Multan Sultans will be run by the PCB this year. After the PSL is over, we will conduct an auction and sell the franchise. This season, the board will run the Sultans,” Naqvi said.
He added that an interim administrative structure would be established soon.
“We will appoint an acting captain to oversee the team in the next eight to ten days. A professional cricketer will also be roped in to manage Multan Sultans for this season,” he added.
The PSL, which started with five teams in 2016 and expanded to six in 2018, is poised for further growth with the addition of two new franchises in its 11th edition.
In the recent flagship auction held at the Jinnah Convention Centre, FKS Group and OZ Developers bought the Hyderabad and Sialkot rights for Rs1.75 billion and Rs1.85 billion respectively.
comments