Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has started the process of selling the ownership rights of Multan Sultans before the 11th season of PSL. Notably, the board has issued a formal notice inviting interested groups to participate in the auction, and bidders must submit their technical proposals by January 30.
The PCB recently recorded strong results in the auction of new PSL teams, which encouraged the board to explore further franchise changes. Two new teams were sold at the Jinnah Convention Centre, with FKS Group purchasing Hyderabad for PKR 1.75 billion, while OZ Developers secured Sialkot for PKR 1.85 billion.
PCB invites bids for Multan Sultans franchise ahead of PSL season
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited bids for the franchise rights of Multan Sultans. Interested bidders must submit their technical proposals by January 30 and only those that meet the required criteria will proceed to the next stage of the process.
Former owner Ali Tareen announced in November that he was stepping away from the franchise. Following his exit, the PCB briefly considered running Multan Sultans on its own for the season, but later decided to auction the team instead.
The Sultans were not part of the recent sale of the two new teams, as the board had not finalized its plans at that time. According to ESPNcricinfo, senior PCB and Pakistan Super League officials supported the auction proposal, which was given final approval at a later stage.
PSL officials expect record price as Multan Sultans put up for sale
The report states that Pakistan Super League officials believe that this is the right time to sell Multan Sultans at a high price. Multan is an established team that has played eight PSL seasons and won the title in 2021, which makes the franchise more valuable than the newly added teams.
Because of this, league officials feel that selling the Sultans before the season could fetch the highest price among all the franchises.
During the recent auction for the two new teams, many bidders dropped out as the prices rose rapidly. i2c remained in the bidding race till late and offered up to PKR 1.82 billion. Although i2c did not win then, it could be one of the leading bidders if it decides to bid for Multan Sultans.
PSL to face important decisions as Multan Sultans ownership remains unresolved
Ali Tareen had also late backed out of bidding on one of the two new PSL teams, but said he would return when Multan Sultans was put up for sale. The ownership issue is one of several matters still unresolved ahead of the next Pakistan Super League season.
The league has not yet announced the draft date as the teams cannot finalize the squads until Multan Sultans gets a new owner. In particular, the addition of two new teams has led to disagreement over how many players existing franchises should be allowed to retain.
The league is also considering using an auction system instead of a draft, at least for the top player categories. All these topics are expected to be discussed in the PSL General Council meeting to be held on Friday.
Also read: Pakistan women’s team announced for South Africa ODI and T20 tour; Captaincy to Fatima Sana