PCB Sells Two Franchises to Expand PSL to Eight Teams

In Islamabad on January 8, 2026, the Pakistan Cricket Board sold two new franchises to expand the Pakistan Super League to eight teams, marking the tournament's first growth since 2018. A United States-based aviation and healthcare conglomerate secured the rights to the Hyderabad franchise for 1.75 billion Pakistani rupees, or about 6.2 million U.S. dollars, while a real estate consortium won the Sialkot franchise for 1.85 billion rupees, equivalent to roughly 6.55 million dollars.

The auction, held at the Jinnah Convention Centre and hosted by former cricketer Wasim Akram, drew strong interest from domestic and international bidders. Bidding for the seventh franchise began at a base price of 1.1 billion rupees. FKS Group, led by CEO Fawad Sarwar, outbid fintech company i2c in a competitive round, with i2c's final offer reaching 1.7 billion rupees. Following the aggressive contest, the board raised the base price for the eighth franchise to 1.7 billion rupees. OZ Developers, headed by Hamza Majeed and based partly in Australia, emerged victorious over i2c to claim the Sialkot rights, setting a record for the highest franchise valuation in league history.