The 2026 season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was to be a historic event to the city of Sialkot, a place full of cricket enthusiasts. Young local fans were finally given the award of a franchise of their own with the Sialkot Stallionz. But prior to the team playing even a single match the franchise was rebranded suddenly to Multan Sultans.
This radical change has caused a massive outrage in social media. It is not only that Sialkot fans have been disappointed; they have been robbed of the representation of their city. This is a closer examination of the financial crisis and the change of ownership that has resulted in its controversial rebrand and why the Sialkot fanbase is reacting so intensely to it.
Reason Behind Sialkot Stallionz Rebranding
The root of this identity crisis lies in a sudden financial collapse. OZ Developers was the first to buy the Sialkot Stallionz franchise. The people were excited to finally have a team that represented their rich cricketing heritage of the city.
OZ Developers however found themselves in a big financial trouble shortly and could not pay their franchise fees to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). As the team was being terminated even before the tournament started, it needed another investor to rescue the franchise.
CD Ventures and the Return of the ‘Multan Sultans’
In order to save the financially crippled franchise, CD Ventures ( headed by Gohar Shah ) intervened and purchased 98 per cent of the controlling interest in the Sialkot team. Although this decision spared the franchise the risk of termination, it was the final price to be paid by the fans of Sialkot: the name of their city was being taken away.
By approximately the same period, the original Multan franchise was acquired by Walee Technologies who then moved that team to Rawalpindi and renamed them as the “Pindiz.” This massive shift left the highly popular “Multan Sultans” name vacant within the PSL.
The new management of CD Ventures was shocked by their decision when they took over the Sialkot franchise. They did not intend to keep the name of Sialkot and so officially asked PCB to give them the vacant Multan Sultans title. PCB also acceded to the demand officially removing Sialkot in the PSL 11 list and gave the team the Multan identity.
CD Ventures owner Gohar Shah:
— Hassan Abbasian (@HassanAbbasian) March 3, 2026
From day one, my only interest was to get Multan Sultans. I was even ready to wait for 10 years, but in the end, my sole purpose was always to get Multan ♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/P3FoBP0T1G
Why the Sialkot Fanbase is Furious
The Sialkot community has reacted very quickly and harshly. It is because of the following reasons that the fans are responding in such a way with a lot of frustration:
Complete Abandonment of City Representation: The main wrath is the total withdrawal of the city of Sialkot out of the league. Years had passed and the fans waited for their city to be projected on the PSL stage only to see their spot given to a totally different city.
Feeling Used as a Placeholder: The Sialkot fans believe that their city was just a place holder city. As soon as the name Multan Sultans was made, the new owners gave Sialkot identity to sell the name of an already reputable brand without having any interest in creating a legacy to the people of Sialkot.
Mistakes of the Owners: The fans believe that they are paying a price because of the financial mismanagement of the original owners (OZ Developers).
Why did the Sialkot PSL team change its name to Multan Sultans?
Due to financial issues, the original owners of the Sialkot team had to sell a majority stake to CD Ventures. Because the original Multan franchise had relocated to Rawalpindi, the new owners of the Sialkot team decided to adopt the vacant “Multan Sultans” name instead of keeping the Sialkot identity.
Who owns the new Multan Sultans (formerly Sialkot) in 2026?
The franchise, which was originally supposed to be the Sialkot Stallionz, is now majority-owned by CD Ventures, who rebranded the team to the Multan Sultans
Will Sialkot get another PSL team?
Currently, the Sialkot identity has been completely removed from the PSL 11 roster. Unless the PCB announces further expansion teams in the future, Sialkot fans are left without a franchise representing their city.
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