Tareen’s Multan to be 6th PSL franchise

LAHORE: As expected the ownership rights of the sixth Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise has been awarded to Ali Tareen, son of PTI leader Jahangir Tareen, and Alamgir Tareen.

The PCB resold the sixth PSL team to the consortium for the next seven years following the conclusion of the bidding process in which the winning bid was more than the reserve price of $5.21 million per annum. The sixth franchise will carry Multan, a popular city based in southern part of Punjab province, as its base.

Reports suggest the two qualified over the losing party that was a South African consortium. Ahmed Chinoy revealed, while speaking to media, that the franchise has been awarded at USD 6.35 million per year. The PCB, however, says that the details will be confirmed later.

The bid was called after the franchise rights for the same team of Schon Properties Broker LLC were terminated last month for failing to meet the financial obligations. He was largely anticipated to win the bid.

Commenting on the successful sale of the franchise rights, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani said this was a key step in the growth of the HBL PSL brand.“I would like to welcome the Multan Consortium of Alamgir Tareen and Ali Tareen to our HBL PSL family,” said Mani. A delighted Ali Tareen said: “Our goal was to retain the sixth HBL PSL franchise in South Punjab and we have succeeded in that. We want to focus on developing cricket in the region and bringing more players from the region to the top level. The HBL PSL is not only a platform for entertainment but also for cricket development.”

HBL Pakistan Super League 2019 will kick off in Dubai on 14 February 2019, while Multan Consortium will play their opening match on Friday, 15 February, against Karachi Kings.Their squad is: Shoaib Malik (captain), Ali Shafiq, Dan Christian, Joe Denly, Laurie Evans, Irfan Khan, Junaid Khan, M Abbas, M Junaid, M Irfan, M Illyas, Tom Moores,, Nauman Ali, Nicholas Pooran, Shahid Afridi, Shakeel Ansar, Shan Masood, Steve Smith, Umar Siddiq and Qais Ahmed.