Former cricketers and consultants are anticipated to take over Multan Sultans for PSL 2026. Picture: PCB
KARACHI:
The journey of Multan Sultans with the Pakistan Tremendous League (PSL) has formally come to an finish.
The previous house owners have misplaced not solely the crew but additionally its official social media accounts and web site, shedding entry to greater than 3.5 million followers in whole.
In keeping with particulars, after the previous proprietor’s harsh statements and the general public act of tearing up a PCB discover, the potential of reconciliation between the PCB and Multan Sultans disappeared utterly. Due to this fact, in contrast to different PSL franchises, no renewal supply was prolonged to the Sultans.
As a substitute of terminating the contract instantly, the PCB waited till December 31, after which the franchise settlement formally expired. For this yr’s match, the PCB will deal with all crew operations itself, after which the crew can be offered. The brand new house owners may have the choice to maintain the title “Multan Sultans” or select a brand new identification.
Possession rights additionally embody all social media accounts and the official web site, which the earlier house owners have now misplaced. Presently, Multan Sultans’ digital following contains: 1.7 million on Fb, 774,000 on X (Twitter), 576,000 on Instagram, and 506,000 on TikTok.
This marks the second time that the Multan Sultans franchise has misplaced its possession. Apparently, Ali Tareen, who walked away from the franchise with an annual payment of PKR 1.08 billion, is now taking part within the bidding for the seventh and eighth PSL groups, whose franchise charges may exceed PKR 1.5 billion.
Sources recommend that regardless of the elevated valuation, the previous house owners may have retained Multan Sultans for a decrease payment, however maybe they believed that the PCB would bar them from bidding. Nonetheless, Chairman Mohsin Naqvi personally welcomed their participation. Now, the previous house owners discover themselves in a troublesome place.
The public sale scheduled for January 8 will see participation from a number of main events, which may considerably drive up the bidding value. Alternatively, some corporations have joined the method primarily for publicity in social media , somewhat than precise franchise possession.
Spending PKR 2 billion yearly to handle a crew could also be past their capability, however taking part within the bidding and creating on-line buzz helps improve their public profile. For this function, they solely must spend round USD 20,000, whereas the USD 200,000 safety deposit can be refunded in the event that they fail to win the bid.
