PSL 2026: Pakistan Cricket Board Likely To Auction Multan Sultans Sooner Than Planned

Islamabad, January 11: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is now thinking about selling the Multan Sultans franchise earlier than it first announced. Earlier, the PCB had said it would sell the team only after the upcoming 11th season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is concluded. But now, officials are discussing if the sale can be done as soon as the rules allow. The final approval will have to come from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

This change in thinking comes after the two new PSL teams, Hyderabad and Sialkot, were sold for very high prices at a recent auction. Hyderabad was sold for PKR 1.75 billion and Sialkot for PKR 1.85 billion. These numbers were much higher than what the PCB expected and higher than the value of any current team. Because of this, PCB officials believe this might be a good time to get a high price for Multan Sultans as well.

Multan Sultans is not a new team. It has played in eight PSL seasons and won the title once in 2021. This makes the franchise more experienced and more attractive to buyers and officials think it could get an even better price before the season starts.

After the auction for the two new teams, PSL CEO Salman Naseer said in a press conference that "the stage is ready" to also sell Multan. Chairman Naqvi replied that he wanted to first run the team and show that it can make money, but Naseer said he would still push for an early sale.

No final decision has been made yet. Last month, Naqvi had said that the PCB would take control of Multan Sultans for this year's season, which will run from late March to early May and then sell it afterward. But that timeline has already passed and no head coach or staff has been appointed so far.

One reason Multan could not be sold earlier is because of PPRA (Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) rules. These rules say that sales must be advertised ahead of time. Since the franchise only came back to the PCB in late December, there wasn't enough time to include it in the same auction as Hyderabad and Sialkot.

Some people believe waiting until next year could raise the price even more if PSL 11 is successful and interest from overseas buyers continues to grow. Others worry that the market could cool down if teams struggle to make profits.

Multan has also had ownership changes before. When the franchise first went up for sale in 2018, the Schon Group ran it for only one season before quitting. Later, Ali Tareen took over but also decided not to continue due to disagreements and high costs.

If the PCB wants to sell the team before PSL 11, it will have to act quickly. The tournament begins on March 26 and important decisions, such as how teams will sign players and how many players can be retained, are still undecided.