Surprisingly, the Tareen Group has decided to take part in bidding for the new teams.
According to details, Multan Sultans’ association with the PSL has now officially ended. The contract will formally conclude on December 31.
Team owner Ali Tareen had been criticizing league management and a PCB official for quite some time. Through podcasts and social media, he questioned the PSL’s structure. When the PCB issued a notice to Multan Sultans, he tore it up on video, making sarcastic remarks.
For this reason, the PCB offered renewal contracts with new franchise fees to all teams except Multan Sultans — and all five other teams accepted. Since terms with the Sultans couldn’t be finalized, Ali Tareen posted on social media:
“I’d rather lose the team while standing tall than run it on my knees — so this is goodbye.”
He also emailed officials about his decision. Sources say the PCB asked him to offer an unconditional apology and delete his social media posts, which he refused to do.
Interestingly, the Tareen Group has now expressed interest in purchasing one of the two new PSL teams. Out of 12 companies that submitted bid documents, one is theirs. Technically qualified bidders will be invited to the open auction on January 8 at the Islamabad Convention Center, where two new franchises will be sold.
Under PSL rules, current franchise owners cannot bid for new teams, but since Tareen will officially no longer be on the owners’ list after December 31, he becomes eligible to participate.
Multan Sultans had been the most expensive PSL franchise, with an annual fee of 1.08 billion rupees. A foreign valuation firm estimated its worth at 1.35 billion rupees, and new teams could sell for 1.25–1.5 billion rupees. It’s unclear what benefit Ali Tareen might gain if he manages to acquire a new team on higher price.
The bidders for the two new franchises come from five countries, including Pakistan, the USA, Australia, Canada, and the UAE. Participants include mobile phone, solar panel, real estate companies, and other major business groups and personalities. Several consortiums have also been formed. The results of the initial bidding phase will be announced on Saturday.
The two new franchises will have 10-year ownership rights from 2026 to 2035, including both years. The winning bidders will be able to select a city name from Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, or Gilgit. They may also propose a name outside this list, but PCB reserves the right to approve or reject it. A $1 million fee will be required for name registration.
The 11th edition of the PSL will take place from March 26 to May 3, 2026, featuring eight teams for the first time.
It’s worth noting that Multan Sultans was introduced in 2017 as the sixth PSL franchise. Initially bought by Schon Properties on an eight-year contract, the deal was terminated the next year due to non-payment of annual fees. PCB temporarily took control of players’ and coaches’ contracts and issued a new tender for ownership rights.
In December 2018, Alamgir Khan Tareen and Ali Khan Tareen acquired ownership of the team. In 2021, Alamgir became the sole owner, and after his passing in 2023, Ali Tareen took charge again.
The PCB has yet to decide whether it will manage Multan Sultans itself in PSL 11 or sell it through a new bidding process. When The Express tribune tried to contact Ali Tareen for comment, he neither answered call nor replied to message.