ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday sold Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans for a record Rs2.45 billion ($8.7 million), ahead of the 11th edition of the Twenty20 tournament.

The 11th edition of the tournament will kick off on March 26, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday, which will feature eight franchises competing across multiple venues.

The previous owner of Multan Sultans, Ali Tareen, announced in Dec. he was walking away from the ownership of the franchise. The PCB said earlier said it will run the Multan Sultans team for the 11th edition before looking for a potential buyer.

Walee Technologies, which specializes in media, finance and technology, bought the rights for the franchise for $8.7 million at an auction held in Lahore, with local media reporting the new owner planned to change its name to Rawalpindi.

“I cannot ask the person paying Rs2.45bn to keep the name Multan Sultans,” Naqvi told reporters after the auction. “Multan Sultans is still dear to my heart, but we will think of something.”

Walee Technologies was among five bidders that participated in the auction, which came a month after Hyderabad and Sialkot joined the PSL 11th edition.

FKS, an aviation and health care conglomerate based in the US who also run the Chicago Kingsmen team, bought the Hyderabad franchise for a whopping Rs1.75 billion ($6.2 million). The other winner was OZ

Developers, a real estate consortium, which bought the Sialkot franchise for Rs1.85 billion ($6.55 million) at the auction.

The PSL has become a key pillar of the country’s cricket economy, providing financial stability to the PCB and serving as a talent pipeline for the national team.

The league, which features a mix of local and international players, already had six city-based teams, including Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.