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PSL to expand to 8 teams; PCB confirms 12 bidders from 5 countries, chase two new franchises, auction date revealed
The Pakistan Super League's expansion to eight teams has attracted 12 bids from five countries.
Pakistan Super League’s planned jump to an eight-team competition has drawn a stronger-than-expected investor rush, with 12 parties formally submitting bids for the league’s two new franchises after the deadline was pushed back to December 24.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a media release that the bids came from five countries, the United States, Australia, Canada, the UAE, and Pakistan, underlining the league’s widening commercial footprint beyond its traditional base.
What happens next
The PCB has mapped out a two-stepped route to the finish line. First, it will announce the outcome of the current phase on December 27. Then, only the technically qualified parties will be invited to the next stage, and open competition bidding process is scheduled for January 8 at the Islamabad Convention Centre, where the two new franchise rights will be decided.
Beyond the headline 12 bids, the key signal is what the process is trying to protect: credibility. The board has repeatedly framed the sale as a transparent, competitive exercise aligned with international standards, which becomes vital when franchise fees, broadcasting negotiations, and long-term sponsorship valuations are all influenced by how cleanly a league sells its newest assets.
The expansion itself is no longer theoretical. In a separate update earlier this month, PCB confirmed the PSL 11 window as March 26 to May 3, 2026, calling it a historic eight-team season that will create more roster spots and earning opportunities for overseas players.
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One detail investors will track closely is identity: the league has already shortlisted a pool of city/team names - Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit, and the successful bidders will have the right to choose from that list.
With the December 27 update now the next checkpoint, the bid results should offer the first real hint of how aggressively the market is willing to price PSL’s new era, and whether the league can grow without losing the tight competitive edge that made it a global T20 fixture in the first place.
