Rawalpindi reveals team name ahead of PSL 11

KARACHI: The Rawalpindi franchise on Sunday unveiled the team nomenclature ahead of the highly anticipated 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled to be played from March 26 to May 3.

The franchise, which was acquired by Walee Technologies for staggering Rs2.45 billion at the historic auction at the Expo Centre in Lahore earlier this month, has now been named 'Pindiz'.

The name of the franchise was unveiled via a 25-second-long video, featuring famous landmarks of the city, with upbeat music in the background.

"Team Rawalpindi's official franchise name is here. We're bold. We're challenging. We're bringing the vibe. We're changing the game," the franchise captioned the video.

The franchise also announced unveiling the logo soon, stating, "Next up: the official team logo." Furthermore, the video also concluded with the text, reading, "To be continued."

For the unversed, the franchise, previously named Multan Sultans, went under auction after its previous owner, Ali Tareen, decided against renewing the decade-long ownership contract after the landmark 10th edition of the marquee league last year.

Consequently, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) temporarily assumed control of the franchise, and its chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, had announced that the cricket board would oversee the matters of the former champions for the historic 11th edition of the marquee league, which will feature eight teams.

Meanwhile, after the successful auctioning of two new franchises, Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen and Sialkot Stallionz, which were acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers for staggering Rs 1.75 billion and Rs 1.85 billion, respectively, the PCB reverted its decision and announced to auction the Sultans.

Consequently, the PCB formally invited bids for the ownership rights of the franchise by issuing an advertisement to attract interested parties last month and its bid committee, following a "thorough and transparent" process, shortlisted five bidders.

Walee Technologies later acquired the ownership rights of the franchise at the glittering auction following a bidding war, most prominently with CD Venturers, who put forward the second-highest bid but were eventually forced to bow out.

Since the winning party was allowed to rebrand the franchise, and their owner, Ahsan Tahir, decided to exercise the right and announced to name the franchise after Rawalpindi.