HYDERABAD: The official name and logo of the seventh Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise was unveiled on Saturday at a star-studded ceremony at the Niaz Stadium, marking the team’s formal entry into the tournament.
The franchise, which was acquired by the FKS Group for a staggering Rs 1.75 billion at the historic auction at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad last month, has now been named the ‘Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen’.
In addition to the nomenclature, the team’s logo was also unveiled during the ceremony and was shared on the franchise’s official social media handles.
“The plan has a new ruler. The game has a new power. Presenting the Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen,” the caption read. “Let our [PSL] reign begin.”
The development came a day after the franchise announced that they had signed five players, including Pakistan’s Saim Ayub and Marnus Labuschagne, leading to the historic players’ auction scheduled to be held on February 11.
The Houston Kingsmen bagged Ayub for Rs126 million in the Platinum category, followed by Usman for Rs46.2 million in Diamond, while Maaz and Akif were signed for Rs35 million and Rs19.6 million in the Emerging and Gold categories respectively.
Labuschagne, on the other hand, joined Hyderabad as a direct signing for an undisclosed fee.
For the uninitiated, the franchise has also bolstered its coaching panel ahead of the historic edition by bringing in high-profile international names.
Former Pakistan redball head coach and Australian all-rounder Jason Gillespie will lead as head coach, with Grant Bradburn joining as fielding coach, Craig White as assistant coach, Hanif Malik as batting coach and Zac Martin taking charge of strength and conditioning.
The eleventh edition of the PSL will see a historic change as the traditional player draft has been replaced by a player auction, while the league itself will expand to eight teams for the first time.
This expansion marks a significant milestone in PSL’s history, following the entry of Multan Sultans in Season 3, which increased the number of teams from five to six.
With the addition of Hyderabad and Sialkot, the league will now feature eight competing teams.
