LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced that the technical evaluation of bids submitted for the sale of Pakistan Super League franchise Multan Sultans has been completed.

According to a PCB statement, six proposals were received within the stipulated deadline and were subjected to a “thorough and transparent” evaluation by the PCB bid committee. Of these, five bidders have been declared technically qualified and will now proceed to the auction stage.

“The date and venue for the auction will be announced in due course,” the PCB said.

Multan Sultans became available after its previous owner, Ali Tareen, chose not to retain the franchise for the next 10-year cycle, while the owners of the league’s other five teams exercised their right of retention.

The PCB had initially decided to operate the Multan Sultans franchise itself for the league’s 11th edition. However, the board later reversed its decision and opted to sell the franchise, buoyed by the strong response to the sale of two new teams — Hyderabad and Sialkot — for Rs1.75 billion and Rs1.85 billion, respectively.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2026