Former New Zealand batter Martin Guptill has expressed his excitement after the Kingsmen (FKS) Group secured one of the two new franchises in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

 

The PSL officially expanded on Thursday as Hyderabad and Sialkot were confirmed as the two new franchises following a high-stakes auction held at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.

 

The two teams will make their debut appearance in PSL season 11, joining the existing six franchises: Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Islamabad United and Multan Sultans.

 

The FKS Group, owned by Fawad Sarwar, secured the seventh franchise for Hyderabad with a successful bid of Rs1.75 billion. OZ Developers, owned by Hamza Majeed, then clinched the eighth franchise with a record-breaking bid of Rs 1.85 billion, announcing it will represent Sialkot.

 

Guptill, who has represented three franchises in the PSL from 2020 to 2024, shared his excitement on Instagram.

 

The 39-year-old posted a picture of the Hyderabad owners receiving souvenirs from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on his story.

 

“Kingsmen Cricket USA, how good is this,” the caption of his Instagram story read.

 

 

While the official names of both franchises will be announced at a later stage, PSL 11 is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament to date with the addition of two new teams. 

 

The tournament is scheduled to run from March 26 to May 3.