Karachi attracts highest bid as PSL teams sold for $93 million

E-Paper | March 01, 2026

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sold five franchise rights for the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) for $93 million for a period of 10 years.

Five companies bought the Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, and Quetta teams.

Salman Iqbal, CEO of ARY Group, successfully bought the Karachi franchise for an undisclosed amount, while Quetta’s rights were sold to Omar Associates.

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Qatar Oil snapped up the Lahore franchise, Leonine Global Sports bought the Islamabad team while Javed Afridi, CEO of Haier Group and a long-timer partner of Pakistan cricket, won rights for the Peshawar franchise.

“The best part is that all the team owners are ardent cricket fans and their dedication will make this league a success,” Najam Sethi, chairman of the PSL, said.

Sethi says coaches will be chosen over the next 10 days, and players' draft will be held later this month.

In another development, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) joined the PSL as title sponsor for the first three years of the league.

As a result of this partnership, the league will now officially be known as the HBL Pakistan Super League.

Having reserved production rights to ensure international standard coverage, PSL’s broadcast arrangements have also been finalised for the next three years with Sunset+Vine as the producers.

Matches will be aired in Pakistan on Ten Sports and PTV Sports. Global TV rights for the same duration have been sold to Tech Front, a UAE-based media rights acquisition company.

Commenting on this development, Mr. Najam Sethi said: “Having awarded production rights to Sunset+Vine, the next step was to ensure that we get the maximum number of eyeballs and I would like to welcome our media rights partners.”

“The sale of all commercial rights – broadcast, franchise, and sponsorship - is perfectly in line with the league’s budgetary estimates,” added Sethi.

The first edition of the PSL will take place from 4-23 February, 2016 with matches taking place in Dubai and Sharjah.

Sport

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Yasir

Dec 03, 2015 08:01pm

Great. Najam Sethi, in spite of all vilification campaign by IK, has proved to be more efficient and helpful. Glad PCB got rid off Zaka Ashraf, who couldn't even negotiate as he couldn't speak English

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Gokarn

Dec 03, 2015 08:02pm

Salman Iqbal, CEO of ARY Group, successfully bought the Karachi franchise for an undisclosed amount. What about transparency.

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Julius_Seizure

Dec 03, 2015 08:05pm

Nice :) Keep these away from Ishaq Dar :)

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Fighter

Dec 03, 2015 08:08pm

Take that BCCI. IPL teams were sold for paltry amounts and now, look at the power of Pakistan, $95 million total. I hope this will be a major success like the Football Leagues in Europe. Secondly we should keep the Indian player away from PSL.

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Woz ahmed

Dec 03, 2015 08:08pm

$2 million a year per team, sounds a bargain. Now whats the player budget?

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SANE MAN

Dec 03, 2015 08:18pm

@FIGHTER: Dude, are you high? The IPL teams fetched a whopping $723.59 million, and that was 7 years back. I bet they are way more than $5 billion now. No comparison!

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Zain

Dec 03, 2015 08:18pm

Qatar oil is a front for the shareef family through saif ur Rehman

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Waseem Sarwar

Dec 03, 2015 08:32pm

@SANE MAN , FIGHTER is just a troll. Everyone knows Indian league always attracts more money. Huge sports market for all kind of sports. BTW good deal for PCB. They will get that much needed cash to invest in domestic and international cricket. If PSL was held in Pakistan, it would have been huge financially but not bad so far.

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Arshad Patel

Dec 03, 2015 08:33pm

PSL will be played in Dubai & Sharjah - LOL. UAE will be sponsoring new sort of employees from PAKISTAN !!! That certainly benefit UAE economy, but PAKISTAN's!!!

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Shahid

Dec 03, 2015 08:34pm

Now hire a foreign security (accountancy) company to ensure that all these dollars stay where they belong and do not end up in someone pocket

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Salman Razzaq

Dec 03, 2015 08:35pm

Tech Front company is indian company not an uae company

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khan

Dec 03, 2015 08:37pm

Well done PCB. Good news is all the owners are cricket lover :-) Can't wait to see HBL PSL :-)

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SANE MAN

Dec 03, 2015 08:40pm

@Waseem Sarwar: Not sure if I agree. The fact that PSL is able to companies like Qatar oil is because its held outside Pakistan. I mean, lets face it, the money in Pak is not sufficient to make it as big as IPL. Since middle east is a melting pot of different cultures, I think, if marketed properly PSL can be a huge hit amongst not just Pakistanis, but Indians, Bangladeshis and Afghans. Add to it, the oil money of the Arabs and it can take off. In the future, once things in Pak settle down and cricket teams start touring Pak, it can be held in parts. Half of the matches in Pak and half in UAE. I know it would be a logistical nightmare, but the financial rewards would be huge. Far greater than conducting it just in Pak. Cheers.

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LOUDSPEAKER

Dec 03, 2015 08:40pm

That's a great news for all Pakistani Cricket fans. Congratulations to all those who worked hard day and night to make this a reality. We are also thankful to cricketers Grant Elliot (NZ), Chris Gale (WI), Lasinath Malinga (SL), Kumara Sangakkara (SL), Shane Watson (AUS) for their immediate positive response to our call.

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Satish

Dec 03, 2015 08:41pm

@FIGHTER Pune warriors was bought for $280 million, Mumbai indians for $111.6 million, RCB for $111.6 million... Now ho figure

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samu

Dec 03, 2015 08:50pm

This will brings success to only UAE, and some profit will go to player and sponsor , your overseas brother will enjoy, what is there for lower middle class people.

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Asgher Ali

Dec 03, 2015 08:52pm

It is a wonderful news.

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Deepak

Dec 03, 2015 09:12pm

All the best to psl from India.hope you spread the game worldwide. And Pakistan gets some exceptional talent from this. And the level of competition in cricket is increased. Why are the games not held in Abu Dhabi?

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Riz

Dec 03, 2015 09:13pm

I am counting on PSL to provide much needed young talent to Pakistan cricket. We all know that we have talented player but PSL will be the real platform which they can use to get into the National team.

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LOUDSPEAKER

Dec 03, 2015 09:16pm

@SANE MAN India is 7 times larger than Pakistan. Why are you not taking into account this big differrnce ?

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Sandy

Dec 03, 2015 09:19pm

@Fighter....PSL player’s highest pay is 1.5 cr PKR, but IPL has average pay of 8-25 cr INR per player

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Waseem Sarwar

Dec 03, 2015 09:25pm

@Arshad Patel , Care to explain how PSL will benefit UAE and they will hire employees from Pakistan? Stop trolling for a second and be reasonable or you are from our neighbor country and don't waste a second in making good things, turn into bad for us.

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Ashish Chaudhary

Dec 03, 2015 09:25pm

@Fighter.... Don't worry indian players earn heavily from IPL n they don't need to come to PSL , as BCCI policy already restricts them to participate in other leagues

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atif khan

Dec 03, 2015 09:32pm

if they allow muhammad amir..he would be the most expensive player.

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atif khan

Dec 03, 2015 09:35pm

@Arshad Patel thats what uae sheikh business plan is..mos of the IT company are there dont have much selling there but controlling the sale to surrounding region.benefit unlimited and on going :)

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aftab@UK

Dec 03, 2015 09:36pm

@samu For lower middle class, we have transparency.

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Valar Morgulis

Dec 03, 2015 09:39pm

Salman Iqbal, please take Mohammed Amir as the top pick for Karachi in PSL. Karachi is bracing for Amir's comeback. Offer Amir the max contract and draft him for Karachi.

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Valar Morgulis

Dec 03, 2015 09:45pm

Why are Indian trolls comparing IPL here with PSL. I haven't seen any Pakistani bringing in IPL here, this talks about the complex and prevalent insecurities of Indian fans. By the way, Indian players are all invited to participate, companies are most welcome to invest and fans are also most welcome to watch. PSL is here to rise Pakistan Cricket.

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Deoband

Dec 03, 2015 10:05pm

Good luck to PSL. More cricket, the better.

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Anirudh

Dec 03, 2015 10:43pm

@Fighter Dear friend, in 2008 Mumbai Indians itself was purchased by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance for $112 million. Here in 2015 you are talking about $93 million all teams put together

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Dr.Sadaf

Dec 03, 2015 10:59pm

Will the highest bid make cricket quality also highest.

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rayjay

Dec 03, 2015 11:10pm

Good.. indian companies are supporting PSL.. TEN sports and Tech front.. all the best PSL....

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khurram

Dec 03, 2015 11:15pm

Good thing about these leagues in subcontinent is that those who do not make it to top 11 but are still talented will get the chance to thrive and get limelight

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Harris

Dec 03, 2015 11:16pm

@LOUDSPEAKER ... Size doesn't matter but capability matters and by the way pak is four times smaller but it's economy is ten times smaller than India

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Haider

Dec 03, 2015 11:20pm

@Sandy IPL is a tournament of around 2 months while PSL for Two weeks... Avg is not 20-25 crores its around 7-8 crores and the players like Dhoni,Abd,Virat get huge.. 1.5 crores for two weeks is huge........Plz do take account of less time and Pakistan 10 times small country than India...Then make estimate

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Sameer

Dec 03, 2015 11:20pm

@Loudspeaker... Size doesn't matter...just look smaller Bangladesh has higher economy, forex reserve, growth rate than pak

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Bipul

Dec 03, 2015 11:52pm

Great news. Hope this ends dependency on Indian series. Enough of that ping-pong saga.

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Dec 04, 2015 12:23am

@Anirudh The winners of psl should play against IPL winners.

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Dec 04, 2015 12:26am

Silly to compare Pakistan with India on any front. Including IPL and PSL. PSL should be good fun. Are the Indian boys coming ? Rajiv Shukla said they can play if they are invited and picked. Good Luck. Hopefully it happens in Pakistan soon.

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anony

Dec 04, 2015 12:37am

Simply AWESOME.

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Riz

Dec 04, 2015 12:45am

My message to all my Indian friends who already started comparing PSL to IPL "try to be positive for a change I am sure you will feel much better"

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Saqib

Dec 04, 2015 12:52am

200 million people, that's a massive market. Its time we started acting according to our size, we have value. WE always undersell ourselves. Wake up Pakistan, this looks like a good start, congratulations.

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Rohit

Dec 04, 2015 01:14am

As always, let Me be the lone voice of sanity/insanity depending on your perspective.... Have a look at what IPL has done to test cricket in India.....we need to manipulate wickets more than ever before..... Cricket is a game of technique and this T20 "Business/Entertainment" ruins it...... Call it something else......just dont call it Cricket.....

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Arshad Patel

Dec 04, 2015 01:52am

@Waseem Sarwar - I think you didnot get it! Is PSL played in Pakistan? No. Is Pakistani player partcipating in PSL play on Pakistani SOIL? No. Brother Waseem, I and along with ALL Pakistani would have welcomed to see PSL being conducted in PAKISTAN which could have generated broader competition in the country. Now, it is like the other Pakistan expats who work, live in UAE, hardly saves any because life has become so expensive an average family of four needs at least Dhs20,000 per month to survive. Tell me which PSL team owner, player will bring his Dirham back to Pakistan where each day millions of dollars smuggled out from Pakistan! Sorry... it tastes bitter but truth. Has nothing to do with my nationality - I am a pro and active cricketer! want only GOOD for PAKISTAN!

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Ali

Dec 04, 2015 02:02am

@Fighter, nah, we should definitely invite BCCI players.

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Ady, London.

Dec 04, 2015 02:07am

Well done, very happy to hear all this,

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Waz502

Dec 04, 2015 02:16am

@SANE MAN Its true they went for a lot more than the PSL teams, but considering there's no concept of home stadiums in the team, and the fact that they're not playing in Pakistan, I'd say 93 mil is not bad As far as the 5bn valuation of the IPL teams goes, I don't think that's accurate. Forbes put KKR, the most valued cricket team presently, at 187 million dollars earlier this year. Even if all the teams were worth the same, which they aren't , it would only be worth around 1.5 billion.

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Dec 04, 2015 02:55am

@Fighter dear fighter, I seriously don't have an issue with Pakistani people or PSL. But, it is ignorant people like you who make me write this comment. Go and check the amount in which IPL teams were sold. what is good should be appreciated. Pakistanis are good cricketers and I wish PSL to do well. But, on the other hand please do not compare economic might of India to Pakistan. all d best.

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Dec 04, 2015 03:00am

@Valar Morgulis we are not comparing, first read above for comments from people like @FIGHTER then you would realize why we bring IPL. anyway all the best to PSL.

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Atul Uppe

Dec 04, 2015 03:36am

@Fighter BCCI doesn't allow indian cricketers to be a part of any international league..little knowledge is dangerous my friend..!!

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Atul Uppe

Dec 04, 2015 03:40am

@Fighter the present valuation of IPL teams is in billions of $..get your facts clear..!!

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Mahen

Dec 04, 2015 04:03am

@Fighter Indian players do NOT play in overseas games! Wether they would be interested in PSL or BdeshPL is another matter

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Rohit Sen

Dec 04, 2015 04:20am

Looks like a very good start. Wish the tournament all the best.

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Steve

Dec 04, 2015 04:52am

Size doesn't matter but capability matters and by the way Australian cricket team is far superior than Indian cricket team

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sajjad

Dec 04, 2015 04:53am

@Gokarn this guy is the richard branson of pakistan

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Bilal

Dec 04, 2015 06:27am

@Deepak Abudahbi will host Master's League in parallel

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Mustafa

Dec 04, 2015 06:29am

Hope that PSL is a success. PCB should take extra measures to prevent any sort of corruption/match/spot fixing. No more controverseries please

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Munir

Dec 04, 2015 06:38am

Why the matches not held in 5 cities -Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar where the 5 franchise names come from? Why Pakistanis have to support Dubai and Sharjah economies? What is in it for small to medium businesses in Pakistan? Is cricket an avenue to make elitists rich at the cost of laymen supporters?

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Munir

Dec 04, 2015 06:39am

@Fighter , 10 years at $93 million?

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Satyameva Jayate

Dec 04, 2015 06:46am

As always, all Smoke and Mirrors. PCB will get $93 Million over the 10 year period - if PSL survives that long.. All PCB is getting right now is $9.2 Million. "According to the PCB, the Karachi franchise sold for USD 2.6 million to Ary media group, Lahore for USD 2.4 million to Qatar Oil, Peshawar for USD 1.6 million to Haier, Islamabad for USD 1.5 million to UAE company and Quetta for USD 1.1 million to well known cricket organizer and team owner, Nadeem Omar."

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Alan

Dec 04, 2015 07:14am

@Fighter: What were you smoking when you wrote that IPL teams were sold for paltry sums? Jaipur team, which was the least priced team, alone was sold at $67 million and Mumbai Indians, the most expensive IPL team, was priced at $111 million i.e. more that the collective price of all PSL teams.

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Hashim

Dec 04, 2015 09:44am

Someone responsible for Sports in Pakistan should do something similar for Pakistan's HOCKEY. We need to revive this dying sports where we were World Champions once.

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USN

Dec 04, 2015 11:40am

@Fighter Dude.. I guess you are on sleeping Pills. The base auction price for two new teams is $225 million (that is per team)

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Sar

Dec 04, 2015 01:50pm

The question now is, which team owner is crazy enough to buy Umar 'the talent' Akmal!

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Guest66

Dec 04, 2015 03:26pm

This is about Pakistan Cricket and Must having nothing to Do With India or Indian Cricket as such , as some one proposing the Winner of Pakistan League to play Winner of IPL , Do Not count the chickens before they hatch applies here and In My humble opinion Once the league gets going , It must be a Pakistan Oriented i.e. it must be targeted to move the League to where it must belong for future additions i.e. Pakistan even if it had to be played in One or two cities ( Lahore, Karachi or Lahore Pindi , or Karachi Pindi ) It Must move back to Pakistan as a precursor to bring back International Cricket to the country , Thus No Link , No Cricketing Contact with India at all , Once BCCI comes and refuses to Play the current discussed series even on netal grounds then That is where PCB must stop persuading India to play cricket with Pakistan ... We have not played mutual cricket since 8 years and let it be another 8 or 16 years we can live with it even for eternity if that is required

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usman778

Dec 04, 2015 08:57pm

Indians unhappy with size, volume, valuation, quality, marketing, venues, rules, players of PSL have the following option: 1. Not worry about it.

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LOUDSPEAKER

Dec 04, 2015 09:28pm

@Saqib. ABSOLUTELY

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Mahen

Dec 05, 2015 04:59am

@Riz There is simply no comparison ! What makes you think people would compare BPL or PSL to IPL?

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Nick

Dec 05, 2015 10:44am

@SANE MAN Yes we know IPL has more worth than PSL only because of huge population and the purpose of IPL is making money through match fixing not promoting the talent, IPL is just a casino where people come to gamble. And Dear Sane we don't need higher budget league we need better cricket for our people.

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Salman

Dec 05, 2015 12:27pm

@Steve i think you're very poor in general knowledge size is compared to area not for population, by the way Australia is larger than lndia

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Sudhanshu Swami

Dec 05, 2015 03:03pm

@Fighter, Fighter should be in PSL marketing team he know how to attract crowd. He might have deliberately made that comment. May be he is Indian.

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Qamer

Dec 05, 2015 04:15pm

They will play in UAE, Why not Pakistan? Matches should start from Pakistan.