“You were saying this ‘game‘ was fixed and no action will be taken against Multan Sultans, Ali Tareen would remain the owner, soon we’d see a picture of him and Salman Naseer exchanging bouquets, and then everyone would live happily ever after. But now the deadline is almost here, and the Sultans’ issues remain unresolved. 

Ali Tareen is hinting at a legal battle — that means things are really bad.”

When I said this to a friend who closely follows the PSL, he replied, “I gave my opinion after analyzing the situation, but perhaps I was wrong. Anyway, after waiting so long, wait another couple of days — everything will become clear.”

He said that and went quiet, but the questions in my mind regarding the Pakistan Super League remain.

Multan Sultans became the most expensive franchise in the league, paying 1.08 billion rupees annually. 

On the field, their performance this year was poor, but off the field, owner Ali Tareen was hitting plenty of verbal sixes and fours. 

Just as players get applause from fans, he did too — but he also had to face the displeasure of PCB officials. I’ve already written about the reasons in detail earlier, but now it seems the matter is reaching an unhappy conclusion.

In a day, the deadline will expire, and we’ll know which franchises are retaining their teams and who is going for rebidding.

Peshawar Zalmi confirmed first, Lahore Qalandars have verbally agreed, Karachi Kings have heavy stakes in the league so they can’t afford to withdraw, and Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators have found PSL to be a golden goose — they’re not going anywhere either.

So, most franchises are staying put. The problem lies with Multan Sultans. The PCB didn’t even make them an offer to retain the team. Ali Tareen recently said that his messages are being ignored. Every PCB press release uses the term “eligible franchises,” which clearly suggests that it’s time to bid farewell to the Sultans.

By now, Ali likely realizes the seriousness of the situation. He might have thought that fiery statements on social media would save him, but that was a miscalculation. 

If Ramiz Raja, Zaka Ashraf, or Najam Sethi were chairman, perhaps a phone call from his father would have fixed things — but Mohsin Naqvi is different; he doesn’t tolerate such behavior.

Ali Tareen thought he was being clever by only targeting Salman Naseer in his criticism, but his statements ultimately hurt the league itself — and no head of an institution can accept that. Now, there seems to be no room left for forgiveness, which is why he’s hinting at legal action. Reportedly, efforts were also made to get other franchises on his side, but few would risk jumping onto a sinking ship.

Although it seems unlikely, if somehow reconciliation happens at the last minute, the franchise fee will increase from 1.08 billion to 1.35 billion rupees. If they had to accept that increase anyway, why start the fight in the first place?

If the dispute continues, Ali Tareen will lose ownership and won’t even be allowed to participate in the rebidding. If he tries to front someone else — an uncle, cousin, or friend — what’s the point? It’ll be a case of “spent nothing, but broke the glass and paid twelve annas.”

Now we’ll see how the drama ends — will there only be two new teams, or will three franchises be sold?

Before departing, though, Multan Sultans have put other franchises in a tough spot too. The audit firm was given financials showing a profit, while several other franchises reported losses. The question arises — if a team paying over a billion rupees annually is profitable, how are the others in loss? Franchise fees have already gone up significantly, but since new teams haven’t yet been sold, it’s better not to discuss specific figures.

What I do know is that many owners are unhappy with how things are unfolding. They’ve held multiple meetings among themselves. 

Questions are being raised:
On what formula were the fees increased?
What is the new financial model for new franchises?

Meetings with the audit firm weren’t very fruitful, but for now, no one wants open confrontation. The first priority for all is to retain ownership.

Imagine someone earning 100,000 rupees a month — if that’s divided among six family members and then two more join without any increase in income, the original ones end up losing out. The same applies here: along with revising the financial model, revenue streams must increase.

These franchise owners were the ones who stepped up when no one was willing to embrace the PSL. Ali Tareen joined later, but the others — Javed Afridi, Atif Rana, Sameen Rana, Nadeem Omar, Ali Naqvi, Salman Iqbal — were loyal partners from the very beginning. They deserve respect.

If any owner causes trouble over dues, handle it according to the law. But bring in new owners who aren’t just chasing fame — ones who won’t panic after seeing the first year’s accounts. Bring in people who can take the league to new heights.

Existing franchises, too, should look for new ways to help PSL grow. Only then can the league become bigger and stronger — otherwise, ten years from now, we’ll still be standing exactly where we are today.