Metro53 - Islamabad (Web Desk): The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will feature eight teams in the upcoming season, as the names of the two newly added franchises have been officially announced.
A bidding ceremony for the sale of new PSL teams was held at Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad. Initially, ten groups participated in the process; however, the Ali Tareen Group withdrew at the last moment, leaving nine groups to take part in the auction.
The ceremony was hosted by Salman Naseer, Wasim Akram, and Sidra Iqbal.
The groups participating in the bidding process included SKS, OZ Developers, ITC, M Next, Jazz, Anwerx Solar Energy, Prism Developers, V Goaltelly, and Wali Technologies.
Among these, SKS and OZ Developers emerged as the highest bidders. The ownership rights of the seventh PSL team were acquired for Rs 175 crore by Fawad Sarwar, who announced that the team will be named Hyderabad.
The eighth franchise was purchased by OZ Developers for Rs 185 crore. Following the successful bid, owner Hamza Majid announced that the team will be named Sialkot.
With the addition of the two new teams, the PSL lineup for the upcoming season will include Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators, Multan Sultans, Hyderabad, and Sialkot.
It is worth noting that ownership rights for both new franchises have been granted for a period of 10 years, and both winning groups are Pakistani-owned.
