Pakistan Super League - PSL

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Naqvi unveils US, Australia-based owners of new HBL PSL franchises​

Interior minister calls bidding continuation of recent investment initiatives, saying it will generate Rs36b for PCB

Web Desk
January 09, 2026

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday unveiled the owners of the two newly auctioned HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises, announcing that the successful bidders are based in the United States and Australia.

Addressing a press conference following the bidding ceremony, alongside the US Chargé d’Affaires and the new franchise owners, Naqvi said that five companies from the United States had participated in the auction, calling it a sign of growing international confidence in Pakistan.

He described the bidding as a continuation of recent successful investment initiatives, adding that the process would generate Rs36 billion for the PCB. The funds, he said, would be utilised for the promotion and development of cricket in the country.

Naqvi announced that Fawad Sarwar, who migrated to the United States 26 years ago, had acquired one of the franchises, while Hamza Majid of OZ Developers, based in Australia, secured the other.

He said the prime minister and the field marshal were pleased with the outcome of the bidding and expressed pride that substantial investment would now be directed towards sports development.

US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker said she was pleased to attend the event as the American representative in Pakistan. She welcomed the participation of US companies, noting that their investment would help strengthen trade relations between Pakistan and the United States. She also congratulated Hamza Majid on acquiring a franchise.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarwar termed the acquisition the fulfilment of a childhood dream. He thanked his team and said the investment would contribute to strengthening ties between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Majid said cricket runs in their blood and highlighted the importance of Sialkot securing a team. He added that his group would aim to win HBL PSL 11.

Earlier, addressing the ceremony after the conclusion of the bidding, Naqvi described the day as a historic moment for the PSL. He said investor confidence in Pakistan was being restored and termed the successful auction a victory for cricket fans.

He congratulated the people of Hyderabad and Sialkot, as well as the new franchise owners, adding that the HBL PSL was more than just a tournament and was deeply linked with national emotions.

He assured full PCB support for the next 10 years and pledged continued efforts to strengthen the league and cricket in Pakistan.

 

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Sialkot owner eyes PSL crown, top players from Pakistan and Australia​

Mohammad Yaqoob
January 11, 2026



Owner of Pakistan Super League’s newly-inducted Sialkot team Hamza Majeed photographed with PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi. — Photo courtesy Capital TV/ X

LAHORE: Emphasising that merit will be the top priority in team selection, the owner of Pakistan Super League’s newly-inducted Sialkot team Hamza Majeed on Saturday said that his franchise will look to pick top players from Pakistan, and then Australia.

“There will be no ‘Parchi’ system in our team, the decisions will be taken on merit and our first priority will be to pick the best players from the current Pakistan team and then to give preference to Australian players.

[Moreover] Australian coaches have the best talent, and if we cannot get any best coach from Pakistan we will search for the best one from Australia,” Hamza, the owner of OZ Group, said during his first media conference after purchasing the Sialkot team at the office of the Sports Journalists Association Lahore at the National Hockey Stadium.

Hamza, who owns a business in Australia, purchased the Sialkot franchise for a whopping Rs1.85 billion at a glitzy PSL teams auction in Islamabad on Thursday.

Responding to a query regarding his team’s target in their maiden appearance in the forthcoming PSL 11 starting in late March, Hamza sounded categorical.

“We have joined the PSL to win it, and we are making a comprehensive plan to [achieve] this target.”

Answering a question whether he had any concerns about making profit after buying the franchise at an expensive price, Hamza said, “Put profit and loss aside, overall the [PSL] auction presented a positive image of Pakistan across international market and among the country’s diaspora.”

 

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After the addition of two new teams — Hyderabad and Sialkot — the total number of participating teams in the PSL has reached eight, expanding the level of profit to manifold against Rs5 billion earned reportedly, by all six franchises in 2023.

The Hyderabad team was bought by SKF, a United States-based franchise, for Rs1.75 billion.

Interestingly, there is a great difference between Sialkot and Hyderabad prices and that of Quetta Gladiators, which is PSL’s lowest cost franchise retained by its owner for just Rs360 million.

However, all the eight franchises will have equal share from the 95 per cent of the total income to be received by them from the central pool of income at the end of the event. The remaining five per cent will go into the PCB account.

The entire amount to be received from the eight franchisees, which is estimated to be Rs6.5 billion, will also go into PCB’s account.

On whether his Sialkot team will miss their home venue — Jinnah Stadium — like Quetta and Peshawar Zalmi teams during the PSL games, Hamza said the revival of Jinnah Stadium would be the priority of both the PCB and his franchisee.

The second home ground of Sialkot would be Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

“It is unfortunate that the Jinnah Stadium which hosted several international matches in the past had turned into a desert,” he lamented.

When asked what inspired him to pick Sialkot as his franchise, Hamza said Allama Iqbal, the Poet of the East, was born in Sialkot and this was one of the main factors which urged him to pick that city.

Furthermore, he said, Sialkot had produced some world-class cricketers for Pakistan, most prominently great Zaheer Abbas. “Our franchise would like him to be with us and play a [suitable] role for our team.”

Replying to a question, Hamza signalled that they would consider ‘Sialkot Shaheens’ as the name of their franchise, “because Iqbal’s poetry contains some special messages for the youth whom he termed Shaheen”.