‘Has Your Balance Exhausted?’: Wasim Akram Teases PSL Franchise Owners in Viral Clip (WATCH)

During the PSL auction for Sialkot and Hyderabad, Wasim Akram’s witty remark stole the show. The event also highlighted the huge financial gap between PSL and IPL, with a new PSL franchise’s sale price rivaling top IPL players’ salaries.

The former Pakistan pace bowling legend, Wasim Akram, took a hilarious dig at the owners during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Franchise Auction in Islamabad on Thursday, January 8. The PSL witnessed the addition of two new teams - Sialkot and Hyderabad, extending to an eight-team competition for the 2026 season, which will begin on March 26.

The Sialkot franchise was sold for $6.5 million (PKR 1.85 billion/approximately INR 59 crore) to OZ Developers, while the Hyderabad franchise was acquired by the US-based aviation firm FKS Group for $6.2 million (PKR 1.75 billion/approximately INR 55 crore), marking another significant milestone in the PSL’s rapid growth. Both franchises combined sold for $12.75 million, which is approximately INR 114-115 crore at the auction.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed the expansion of the league to an eight-team competition in 2024, and the formal tender was officially launched to invite applications for the two new franchises in 2025.

Wasim Akram’s Witty Remark Steals the Show

Pakistan’s pace bowling legend was at the centre of attention as his energetic presence during the PSL franchise auction kept the room engaged as franchise owners weighed their bids. However, Wasim Akram’s light-hearted remark quickly became the highlight of the auction. The Hyderabad auction was first up for the auction as the seventh team, and the process sparked competitive bidding.

Hyderabad’s team base price was PKR 1.10 billion and reached PKR 1.55 billion before taking a brief pause. During the pause, Wasim Akram noticed that JazzPK, Pakistan’s leading telecom provider, was hesitant to bid further for the Hyderabad franchise, prompting a witty remark from the pace bowler.

“Balance toh katam nahi ho gaya,” Akram said (The balance hasn’t run out, has it?).

The remark left the room in splits, drawing laughter from franchise owners and officials present.

Over the last 10 seasons, the Pakistan Super League operated with six teams - Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators. With the addition of Sialkot and Hyderabad, the PSL enters a new phase with an expanded eight-team format, starting from the 2026 season.

Sale of PSL Franchises Lower Than IPL Players' Salaries

Each of the new PSL teams was sold between 55 and 59 crore, which is almost identical to the big paychecks by IPL franchises Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings to Rishabh Pant (27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (26.75 crore), respectively, in the last season of the tournament. The combined salary of Pant and Iyer per IPL season is 53.75 crore, almost matching the cost of a PSL franchise, underscoring IPL’s far higher commercial muscle.

At the IPL 2026 Auction, 10 franchises splurged a total of INR 215.45 crore on 77 players to fill the available slots ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament. Out of which, INR 118 crore were spent on the top nine players at the mini-auction. Interestingly, the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders combined spent INR 71.6 crore on the top four expensive players at the IPL mini-auction.

This shows that IPL players’ signings often surpass the valuation of a full PSL team. The Sialkot is currently the most valued franchise at $6.5 million, surpassing Multan Sultans’ 6.3 million valuation, but even the highest valued PSL franchise cannot match the commercial scale of IPL signings.

Though PSL has expanded the league by the addition of two new franchises, the league’s financial scale is much smaller than the market value of each IPL franchise, showing that even a single top IPL team is worth far more than an entire new PSL team.