Two new franchises were added to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as OZ Developers submitted a massive bid of Rs 1.85 billion to win Sialkot, moments after FKS Group secured Hyderabad for Rs 1.75 billion in the league’s auction on Thursday.
OZ developers were in a bidding war with software firm i2c as they battled it out in the second round of the auction taking place at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad.
I2c’s final bid was Rs 1.82 billion before OZ Developers upped the ante and ended the night at Rs 1.85 billion, the highest bid ever for a PSL franchise.
The first round of the auction was won by FKS, which was also in a bidding war with i2c, whose final bid was Rs 1.7 billion.
The base price of the first franchise – the seventh team added to PSL – was set at Rs 1.1 billion, while the base price of the eighth team was Rs 1.7 billion.
This will be the first appearance for Hyderabad and Sialkot since the inception of the league in 2015, with this year’s league scheduled from March 26 to May 3.
The cities in the running for possible franchise award included Faisalabad, Gilgit, Hyderabad, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi and Sialkot.
Current PSL teams include Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans.
The bidders for the two new teams were FKS, OZ Developers, Aim Next inc, Deharki Sugar Mills, Inverex Solar, i2c, Jazz, Prism Developers, VGO TEL and Walee Pakistan.
Commentator and former Pakistan cricket team captain Wasim Akram hosted the auction as PSL CEO Salman Naseer joined him on stage.
“Ten years of PSL have brought us to this moment,” Naseer said at the start of the auction.
Akram cajoled bidders by reminding them that winning a bid was about more than just ownership; it was the ability to design new logos, kits, interact with players and much more.
Ahead of the bidding process, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi awarded a cash prize of Rs 90 million to the team that won the Rising Star Asia Cup.
The team that won the Hong Kong Sixes title also received a cash prize of Rs 18.5 million.
The submission deadline was extended several times – initially from December 15 to 22, then to December 24 – due to growing interest from investors in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and beyond, following promotional tours in London and New York.
Former Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen withdraws from auction
Earlier today, former Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen announced on social media that he and his family would not participate in the PSL auction.
“Our time with Multan Sultans was never just about owning a cricket team. It was about South Punjab,” he wrote in an article on X.
“(It was) about giving a voice to a region that had been neglected for too long. That’s what drove everything we built.”
Tareen added that if he were to return to the league, it should be for the same reason, stating that South Punjab “is where my heart is”.
“This year I will be in the stands. Cheering for the players and celebrating with the fans. And when the Multan team is sold, we will be ready,” he wrote.
