Sultans journey with PSL comes to an end

The journey of Multan Sultans with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has officially come to an end.
The former owners have lost not only the team but also its official social media accounts and website, losing access to more than 3.5 million followers in total.
According to details, after the former owner’s harsh statements and the public act of tearing up a PCB notice, the possibility of reconciliation between the PCB and Multan Sultans disappeared completely. Therefore, unlike other PSL franchises, no renewal offer was extended to the Sultans.
Instead of terminating the contract immediately, the PCB waited until December 31, after which the franchise agreement officially expired. For this year’s tournament, the PCB will handle all team operations itself, after which the team will be sold. The new owners will have the option to keep the name “Multan Sultans” or choose a new identity.
Ownership rights also include all social media accounts and the official website, which the previous owners have now lost. Currently, Multan Sultans’ digital following includes: 1.7 million on Facebook, 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 lost its ownership. Interestingly, Ali Tareen, who walked away from the franchise with an annual fee of PKR 1.08 billion, is now participating in the bidding for the seventh and eighth PSL teams, whose franchise fees could exceed PKR 1.5 billion.
Sources suggest that despite the increased valuation, the former owners could have retained Multan Sultans for a lower fee, but perhaps they believed that the PCB would bar them from bidding. However, Chairman Mohsin Naqvi personally welcomed their participation. Now, the former owners find themselves in a difficult position.
The auction scheduled for January 8 will see participation from several major parties, which could significantly drive up the bidding price. On the other hand, some  companies have joined the process mainly for publicity in social media , rather than actual franchise ownership.
Spending PKR 2 billion annually to manage a team may be beyond their capacity, but participating in the bidding and creating online buzz helps enhance their public profile. For this purpose, they only need to spend around USD 20,000, while the USD 200,000 security deposit will be refunded if they fail to win the bid.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneSaleem KhaliqRead More