The ongoing battle between Multan Sultans owner Ali Khan Tareen and the management of the Pakistan Super League as well as the Pakistan Cricket Board. Last month, a video shared by Ali Khan showed him receiving and subsequently tearing up a legal notice served to him as the owner of a franchise.
His stature as an outspoken critic of the PSL’s management has earned him plenty of conversation, as he tries to push the league towards improving on a number of areas where they seem to lag behind rival leagues globally. Having been at the receiving end of several threats and warnings from the PSL, however, it was Tareen’s turn to shoot a warning the PSL’s way, after he revealed his franchise had been frozen out of discussions regarding the tournament in recent weeks.
“Since the PCB will not communicate with us, here is an update we can share ourselves,” wrote Tareen on his X profile.
“Over the past month we have sent multiple emails to the PSL management, asking for our valuation and renewal letter (which every other team has already received). But there has been no response,” explained Tareen. “No response to our legal letter, no response to our emails, no response to my letter to the Chairman.”
Tareen had been warned regarding the suspension of his ownership by the PSL, and had stated in his previous video that he hoped for open discussions between the franchises and the league in order to streamline the process. However, his latest revelations indicate he had his bluff called by the PSL – something he didn’t hold back from expressing his disagreement with.
{{/usCountry}}Tareen had been warned regarding the suspension of his ownership by the PSL, and had stated in his previous video that he hoped for open discussions between the franchises and the league in order to streamline the process. However, his latest revelations indicate he had his bluff called by the PSL – something he didn’t hold back from expressing his disagreement with.
{{/usCountry}}“Even other franchise reps have asked why Multan is not being included in the valuation and renewal process. No response,” he continued. “For those asking why this is not being handled behind closed doors, it is simply because the PSL Management refuse to engage with us.”
Tareen calls out PSL's ‘ghosting’ act vs Multan
Describing the situation as Multan being ‘ghosted’ by PSL management, Tareen threatened the PSL with legal action if they didn’t open discussions with Tareen. He once again offered a civil discussion over ‘tea and biscuits’, but didn’t hesitate from calling out the ‘fragile egos’ handling the situation from the PSL’s end.
“If this ghosting continues we will have no choice but to take legal action. Which is the absolute last thing we want to do,” said Tareen. “This entire situation is so unnecessary and could have easily been solved over tea and biscuits. But fragile egos make simple things difficult.”
“Let’s hope better sense prevails, but it is not looking likely…” concluded Tareen, who helped lead his franchise to the 2021 PSL trophy but finished as runners-up in the three succeeding years.
PSL 2026 will be the tournament’s 11th edition, and is slated to begin next April.