The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday invited bids for the auction of the Multan Sultans franchise until January 30, 2026. The PCB advised interested bidders to submit their bids by January 30, and the bids will be opened on the same date. The PCB clarified that only those companies that will be found technically qualified will be allowed to participate in the final bidding process. Previously, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced its intention to operationalize the Multan Sultans franchise independently.

After taking notice of foreign investors' interest in buying two Pakistani PSL franchises, the PCB decided to auction Multan Sultans. Multan Sultans will be sold through an open auction It is necessary to mention here that the valuation of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) experienced a massive surge with the addition of two new franchises that were sold for a collective Rs3.6 billion at the star-studded auction.

The two new PSL franchises were acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers for a whopping Rs1.75 billion and Rs1.85 billion, respectively. The combined annual fees of the newly-added franchises were Rs3.6 billion, which is 34 per cent more than that of the combined value of the first five teams – Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators, currently Rs2.64 billion.

According to the details, the United have the highest annual fee of Rs780 million, among the first five franchises, closely followed by the Qalandars, who pay Rs670 million annually, while the annual fees of the Kings, Zalmi and Gladiators are Rs640 million, Rs490 million and Rs380 million, respectively.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)