Franchises for Hyderabad and Sialkot will enter an expanded 2026 Pakistan Super League following an auction in Islamabad.
Bids for the two sides were won by FKS, a United States-based group who bought Hyderabad for PKR 1.75 billion (£4.61m), and Australia-located real estate consortium OZ Developers, who purchased Sialkot for PKR 1.85 billion (£4.87m).
The new franchises will join the six existing sides for the 11th season of the PSL, which is set to start on 23 March and end on 3 May.
The auction marks the first expansion of the competition since Multan Sultans joined the league for its third season in 2018.
FKS’s bid for Hyderabad was won from a base price of PKR 1.1 billion, leading to the starting cost in the Sialkot auction being lifted to PKR 1.7 billion.
The fees, which will be paid annually to the Pakistan Cricket Board for the right to operate the franchise, are significantly larger than those paid by the existing teams, which are all valued between PKR 370m and 670m.