The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially suspended Multan Sultans, one of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) most popular franchises, citing repeated violations of contractual obligations. The decision, confirmed on Thursday, marks a major development following months of strained relations between the board and franchise owner Ali Tareen.
As per PCB insiders, a formal termination notice has also been sent to the franchise after all legal processes were completed. The suspension reportedly stems from Tareen’s public criticism of the league’s management, which the board claims damaged PSL’s reputation and breached communication clauses in the franchise agreement.
“Ali Tareen’s recent remarks publicly undermined the integrity of the league and violated terms agreed upon by all franchise owners,” a PCB official stated anonymously.
Ali Tareen Responds to PCB’s Action
Tareen has been an outspoken critic of the PSL’s management and direction. Earlier this year, he took to social media to question the lack of innovation in the upcoming season, writing:
“𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝑷𝑺𝑳 10 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓? 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 – 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘? 𝑭𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔. 𝑷𝑪𝑩 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.”
Following backlash from fellow franchise owners, Tareen later clarified that his comments were aimed at encouraging growth, not criticism.
“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑷𝑺𝑳 – 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝑴𝑨𝑫𝑬-𝑰𝑵-𝑷𝑨𝑲𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎. 𝑴𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒕’𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆.”
The rift deepened again in July when Tareen criticized PCB’s celebratory video for PSL 10, citing declining TV ratings and attendance. PCB officials argued that such remarks further violated the franchise’s conduct policy.
Multan’s Future in PSL Remains Uncertain
A senior PCB representative confirmed that if the issue is not resolved soon, the board may revoke Multan’s rights entirely and open bidding for new ownership before the PSL 11 season.
This is not the first instance of contractual trouble for the franchise. In 2018, the original owners, Schon Properties, lost ownership for failing to meet financial obligations, leading the Tareen family to acquire the team. Despite success on the field, reports suggest that the franchise continues to face financial challenges, with steep annual fees and limited profitability adding to its woes.
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