Multan Sultan to be handled by independent committee [Source: X]In a recent development, the Multan Sultans franchise from the Pakistan Super League will be overseen by an independent committee to decide the franchise’s retentions ahead of the league’s mega auction. This will happen before the new owners officially take over the franchise. The PSL 11 auction is scheduled to take place on February 11, and according to the details, the independent panel will be responsible for overseeing four players from each category as per the new guidelines from the existing squad ahead of the auction. Multan Sultans’ player retention fate in jeopardy For the unaware, the Multan Sultans have been without any franchise owners for quite a while after Ali Tareen, the previous owner, exited the franchise back in December 2025. Notably, Tareen also pulled out of the auction for two new PSL franchises as he is interested in taking over Multan Sultans again. As of now, the team is set to go up for auction in a few days, with the Pakistan Cricket Board officials formally inviting bids for ownership rights and issuing an advertisement to attract interested parties. After the franchise is sold completely, the new owners will be able to select the remaining squad during the auction process, but for now, the proceedings will be handled by an independent committee. PSL embraces new auction model for 11th edition The PSL is also embracing the new auction model after ditching the draft system used in all of its previous seasons. The new auction model is set to increase competitiveness in the game and promises an exciting pre-tournament event scheduled to dazzle the nation on February 11. It is important to note that the retention category of a foreign player who participated in the previous edition will be fixed for this year based on their base price at the time of registration. However, the franchises and players might mutually agree to select a different retention category for the upcoming season. The base prices have been set at PKR 4.2 crore, PKR 2.2 crore, PKR 1.1 crore, and PKR 60 lakh, under which the players’ categories will fall. The Multan Sultan-PCB fiasco As for the Multan Sultans franchise, the independent committee has come into action because of a series of events that disturbed the franchise owner’s reputation. The previous owner, Ali Tareen, back in April, began publicly criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board and the PSL management over the league’s expansion, the revenue model, and the overall transparency of the league, and claimed that the league’s value was declining due to poor management. Following his criticism, the PCB sent Tareen a legal notice accusing him of breaching the franchise agreement with false and baseless allegations. Tareen remained unfazed by the legal notice and responded with a highly sarcastic video apology shared on social media, in which he tore the legal notice in half on camera. With the original 10-year franchise agreements expiring in December, Tareen threatened legal action, as Multan Sultans were the only team yet to receive a renewal offer letter in November 2025. In the same month, Ali Tareen announced that he would not renew ownership of Multan Sultans and would not compromise on his principles. In December, the PCB announced that Tareen’s ownership had officially concluded. With Tareen pulling out of the ownership game, the Multan Sultans franchise is now ownerless and up for grabs for interested parties, with Tareen also joining the race to reclaim the franchise.
