In a recent development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly considering the expansion of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), offering the option of six cities to interested parties. The Board has invited interested bidders to compete for the franchise ownership rights, which will be allocated over a period of 10 years.
Earlier, PSL CEO Salman Naseer had said that the new franchises would be awarded through an auction, with bidders allowed to choose any city from the approved list. The league is now preparing to launch the tender process to sell two additional teams while expanding the domestic T20 tournament into the next phase.
PCB shortlists six cities to include new PSL teams
The Pakistan Cricket Board has finalized the independent valuation of all existing PSL franchises and associated commercial assets. After evaluation, the Board has issued renewal offer letters to the existing franchise owners.
The PCB has shortlisted six potential cities – Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, Faisalabad, Gilgit and Rawalpindi – to include the two new teams. Notably, the final decision will be made through an open auction process, where interested bidders will have the option to select a city from the approved list.
“Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the completion of the independent valuation process for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise and other commercial assets,” the statement said.
“Following the conclusion of this exercise, renewal proposal letters reflecting the new franchise fee for the next 10 years have been formally shared with all compliant PSL franchisees, requesting them to revert to their decision within the stipulated timeline.”
PCB completes independent assessment of PSL franchises
All existing PSL franchises were assessed by global auditing firm EY MENA. Each of the six existing teams – Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans – have received renewal offers with revised financial terms for the next decade.
Franchise owners are given a set time limit to respond to the offer. To ensure transparency and mutual understanding, the PCB has conducted detailed meetings jointly and individually between the evaluation experts and the team management.
The purpose of these discussions is to give franchises a clear picture of how the evaluation was determined, allowing them to raise any concerns or seek clarification before finalizing their decisions for the upcoming PSL cycle.
Fees increased by up to 150 percent before PSL 2026
Following the evaluation, renewal letters were sent to all six existing teams. The auditors recommended a substantial fee increase for existing franchises, between 75 and 150 percent.
“The audit firm has sent renewal letters to the six franchises indicating the new annual franchise fees for the next 10 years and the teams have been requested to withdraw their decisions within the given time frame,” an official said.
Among them, Multan Sultans remains the most valuable with an annual fee of US$6.35 million, while the fees of others range between US$2.6 million to US$1.3 million.
The PCB discussed many aspects of the future of the league. However, no final decision was taken regarding the schedule of the 11th edition of the PSL. It is expected that the next season will once again overlap with the Indian Premier League window between March and May next year.
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