Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has received as many as a dozen bids for buying the rights for two new teams in the 2026 edition, with offers coming from five continents, even though a news report claimed that most of them are skittish on the high base price sought by the board.
The PCB has set USD 4 million as the base price for the new PSL teams, claiming the interest has been high after two successful roadshows in London and New York attracted a good number of investors.
There were reports that PCB has not received any bids for the new teams because of the high base price it sought, but sources told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that they have received several bids.
“Around 12 bids were received, which is an exceptional and encouraging response to the tender issued for the sale of two new franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL),” a source told www.telecomasia.net.
The bidders belong to five continents, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan, which clearly reflects the PSL’s growing global popularity and commercial appeal, the report claimed. “A prominent businessman from the USA, Aamir Wain, has registered a bid under a consortium and is interested in buying the Hyderabad team,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.
The next phase of the bidding process will be announced on December 27 after scrutiny of the bids, as some of the bidders are reluctant to the price, which may go over 5 million dollars under the current rate of the currency.
The PCB will conduct an auction in Islamabad on January 8, 2026, to finalise the sale.
According to the report, PCB conducted a valuation of the existing five teams, which showed Lahore Qalandars got the highest rise in value. Lahore will pay 2.37 million dollars for the next ten years, while Karachi Kings’ estimated value stands at 2.27 million dollars. Multan Sultans became the most expensive franchise in 2018, but after a fallout with the PCB, their new value is estimated at 3 million dollars.
These values are reached on valuation and under a new dollar to Pakistan rupee conversion, which is now 280 compared to 160 when the teams were sold in 2015, the report added.
A bidder from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) told www.telecomasia.net that if top-class players are attracted to the PSL 2026, then only the League will be successful and give the right kind of value to the franchises.
–IANS
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