You may have seen Ali Tareen posting fiery statements on social media in recent days. Some might even agree with him. But based on what little knowledge I have about the PSL, I knew that what he was saying wasn’t entirely true. Of course, there’s always room for structural improvement, but even so, the PSL remains Pakistan cricket’s biggest product one that earns the PCB billions of rupees every year.
Before the new franchise valuations, all teams except Multan Sultans had already agreed to renew their contracts. Despite a significant increase in franchise fees later, none of them backed out clear proof that PSL ownership is no loss-making venture.
The Sultans, however, were uncomfortable with their hefty franchise fee. Perhaps they thought they could drop the current team and buy a new one at a lower price. Bid Documents were even requested under the name Daharki Sugar Mills, but they withdrew just minutes before the auction a case of “ate nothing, drank nothing, but still broke the glass $20,000 gone.” Maybe they had already realized that the bidding would go into the billions and that their own record fee of 1.08 billion rupees would be broken.
That’s exactly what happened.
If you read my column last week, I had predicted the bidding could reach two billion rupees and it nearly did. Some participants, perhaps there to raise their profiles, or thinking the bidding would stop at a few hundred million, miscalculated badly.
Once again, the PSL proved the old businessmen wrong.
Regarding FKS (Kingsmen), I already had a feeling they would go far. The city of Hyderabad was shortlisted with them in mind. The way they kept raising their bids made it clear they were determined to get a team and could have gone beyond two billion.
After the first team sold for 1.75 billion rupees, the PCB cleverly raised the reserve price, crushing the dreams of those hoping to buy the next team cheaply.
I don’t personally know Hamza Majeed of the Ozi Group, but I’ve known his partner Kamil Khan for some time a very dynamic personality. They, too, were determined to buy a franchise, and eventually did so for a record 1.85 billion rupees, naming it Sialkot.
Thus, both new teams went to foreign businesspeople from the USA and Australia.
Some other bidders sat quietly or made only a token offer, perhaps assuming even the reserve price wouldn’t be met. They ended up paying $20,000 (over 5.6 million rupees) just for “tea” but at least they could tell their friends, “Watch the auction on TV your brother will be there!”
The PCB had invited me to the event, but for certain reasons, I couldn’t attend and watched it live on TV instead. Wasim Akram hosted it very well. It was also nice to see Atif Rana, owner of defending champions Lahore Qalandars, seated at the press conference a good gesture.
It would have been even better if the team owners were invited not as formal attendees but as special guests and given due recognition.
Nevertheless, the transparent and efficient manner in which the entire process was completed deserves appreciation Mohsin Naqvi, Salman Naseer, and other officials did an excellent job. The event was broadcast live, everyone got a fair chance to participate, and those who had spread negativity like Ali Tareen weren’t given a platform to turn themselves into heroes. This in itself showed wise management.
Now, the league needs to grow even bigger.
Franchise fees don’t go into the central pool they go directly to the PCB. So the board must now secure larger commercial deals. With more matches coming, media rights contracts will also likely bring in massive revenue. The new deals must ensure timely payments, too.
With two new franchises added, income must increase accordingly. But it won’t be easy for these new teams to turn a profit immediately.
The PCB has decided to pay each franchise at least 850 million rupees from the central pool over the next five years. Still, each team will have to spend 900 million to 1 billion rupees from their own pocket annually. Another 500–600 million will go toward players’ and officials’ salaries, travel, accommodation, and other expenses. Covering 1.5 billion rupees a year won’t be easy but surely, these major business figures have a solid model in mind. People of that stature don’t invest blindly.
The issue of player retention is also being discussed.
The new teams want zero retention, while the existing franchises want to retain five instead of eight players. Perhaps a middle ground of three will be reached. Zero retention would severely affect the older teams, so a mutual decision would be best.
Just as parents favor a child who earns more, the PCB naturally has a soft spot for the new, high-paying franchises. But it shouldn’t forget the old owners the ones who stood by when no one else was willing to come forward.
All must now work together to make the PSL an even bigger brand.
It’s being said that Multan Sultans may soon be sold as well a sensible move that could fetch over two billion rupees this time.
For now, congratulations to Mohsin Naqvi for succeeding brilliantly on yet another front.