Pakistan Super League franchise (PSL) Multan Sultans on Monday was sold to Walee Technologies for a record Rs2.45 billion ahead of the tournament’s 11th edition.

At the auction in Lahore, show host Fakhr-i-Alam informed bidders that the winning bid would also cover the annual fee to maintain ownership of the team for the next 10 years.

Speaking at the auction ceremony, the new owner of the team announced that they would be changing the name to Rawalpindi.

“Are you ready for a surprise? We will be going for Rawalpindi!” announced the company’s chief executive officer, Ahsan Tahir.

Speaking at the ceremony, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Walee Technologies on their successful bid and expressed gratitude to former board chairman Najam Sethi, for his vision for the Multan Sultans franchise.

“This Multan Sultans was created by Najam Sethi sahib and the person who started this journey; we are so pleased he is with us today,” Naqvi said, inviting Sethi onto the stage.

In his remarks, Sethi said, “I’m obviously delighted to be here; this is the culmination of a dream come true.

“I’m obviously over the moon that it’s come through under Mohsin Naqvi, who is a dear, dear friend of mine,” he said.

Sethi hailed the winning bid as a “great moment for Pakistan cricket”, adding that there Naqvi would give good news “beyond PSL” over the coming days.

Walee Technologies is a global company specialising in projects in the media, finance and technology sectors, according to their website, which added that the company had also earlier acquired PSL livestreaming rights.

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