The Pakistan Super League achieved a landmark expansion on January 8, 2026, successfully incorporating two additional franchises through a competitive auction process that drew participation from a diverse array of domestic real estate entities and international conglomerates, thereby elevating the premier T20 competition from six to eight participating teams with immediate effect for the upcoming season.
OZ Developers, a prominent Pakistani real estate consortium, emerged victorious in securing the Sialkot-based franchise with a winning bid of $6.55 million (equivalent to Rs 1.85 billion Pakistani rupees or approximately INR 58.38 crore), while the United States-based FKS Group, specializing in aviation and healthcare sectors, claimed the Hyderabad franchise for $6.2 million (Rs 1.75 billion Pakistani rupees or INR 55.57 crore), resulting in a combined investment of $12.75 million for the league's growth.
A striking financial comparison emerged from the auction outcomes, as the entire valuation of the Hyderabad team nearly equates to the aggregated IPL 2026 mega auction retention and bidding amounts secured by Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant at Rs 27 crore and middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer at Rs 26.75 crore, whose combined remuneration stands at Rs 53.75 crore, illustrating profound disparities in franchise ownership costs versus elite individual player valuations across South Asian T20 ecosystems.
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More broadly, the total expenditure on both newly inducted PSL franchises falls considerably short of the cumulative salaries disbursed to the nine highest-paid players in the recent IPL auction cycle, which surpassed Rs 118 crore collectively, highlighting fundamental differences in revenue models, broadcast rights valuations, market maturity, and commercial sponsorship potential between the established Indian Premier League and the evolving Pakistan Super League.
With the enlarged eight-team structure now finalized, the PSL 2026 edition is poised to commence on March 26, featuring enhanced competitive depth, while the Pakistan Cricket Board assumes temporary administrative control over the Multan Sultans franchise for the current season pending its post-tournament sale, after former owner Ali Tareen opted to withdraw from the bidding despite initial eligibility and expressed intent to return exclusively for the Multan property in future opportunities.
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