The PCB will run the Multan Sultans franchise itself instead of looking for an external buyer for the PSL 2026 season. In a press conference, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the board will bring in former cricketers and experts to take over the running of the franchise for the duration of the 11th season of the league before opening it up to potential buyers after the season.
“As soon as the PSL ends, we will auction the franchises and in the next eight to ten days we will appoint a caretaker chief to run the franchise,” Naqvi said.
Naqvi said the franchises cannot be sold along with the two new franchises, which will be publicly auctioned in Islamabad on January 8, citing rules that the sale must be announced for a certain period before the auction. With the PSL starting in late March, he said there was not enough time for the Sultans to ensure an independent sale in the remaining time.
Sultans’ previous owner Ali Tareen had announced last month that he was walking away from his ownership of the franchise. The decision came after an increasingly bitter dispute between Tareen and the PSL management, whom he publicly and repeatedly accused of lack of ambition and transparency.
In response, the PCB sent a legal notice accusing them of non-compliance with their ownership contract, and demanded a retraction and a public apology. Tareen responded with a sarcastic “apology” video, which ended with him tearing up the notice sent to him.
In the following weeks, Tareen found herself out of the news in preparation for the 11th season. He was the only owner who did not receive the renewal proposal letter. Tareen had last week said that Sultans had received no response from the PCB chairman or the PSL management to any communication threatening legal action.
With Tareen’s ownership of the franchise officially ending on 31 December, the PCB faced the prospect of needing to find buyers for three teams instead of two. However, Naqvi hinted that the door was open for Tareen to buy one of the other two franchises and praised him for “doing a lot of work” on the Sultans.
“Unfortunately, what happened is an issue I don’t want to discuss. But we would welcome Ali back. If he wants to buy a new team he can by all means bid for it.”
The PCB taking direct ownership of a specific franchise is unprecedented in the history of the PSL, and has no obvious parallel in any major T20 league. While it remains to be seen what form the organizing committee takes for the Sultans, Naqvi said more details would be available in due course.
PSL start date may get pushed forward; Wasim Akram appointed brand ambassador of PSL
The starting date of PSL can also be changed. Initially planned to run from March 26 to May 3, Naqvi said he was hoping to kick off the league on March 23. This date is a public holiday in Pakistan, called Pakistan Day, and was the date in 1940 when the idea of establishing Pakistan as an independent nation was officially put forward as a political proposal.
Naqvi also said that former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram has been made the brand ambassador of PSL. Akram has previously worked at Islamabad United in coaching and mentorship roles.
Naqvi also criticized the conduct of the India Under-19 team during the recent Asia Cup final in Dubai, which Pakistan Under-19 won by 191 runs. The game was a low-spirited affair with charged moments from both sides. As has become tradition between India and Pakistan matches in recent months, there was no handshake.
Naqvi said, “If India does not want to join hands with us then it is not a problem, but whatever happens between the two sides will be on the basis of equality.”
