HYDERABAD: The official name and logo of the seventh franchise of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were unveiled on Saturday at a prestigious ceremony at the Niaz Stadium, marking the team’s official entry into the tournament.
The franchise, which was acquired by 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 christened as ‘Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen’.
In addition to the nomenclature, the team logo was also unveiled during the ceremony and shared on the franchise’s official social media channels.
“The field has a new leader. The game has a new power. Introducing the Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen,” read the caption. “Let us leave our [PSL] the reign begins. »
The development came a day after the franchise announced the signing of five players, including Pakistan’s Saim Ayub and Marnus Labuschagne, ahead of the historic players’ auction, scheduled for February 11.
Houston Kingsmen signed Ayub for Rs 126 million in the Platinum category, followed by Usman for Rs 46.2 million in the Diamond category, while Maaz and Akif were signed for Rs 35 million and Rs 19.6 million in the Emerging and Gold categories, respectively.
Labuschagne, on the other hand, joined Hyderabad on a direct signing for an undisclosed fee.
For the uninitiated, the franchise also strengthened its coaching roster ahead of the historic edition by bringing in top international names.
Former Pakistan red-ball head coach and Australian all-rounder Jason Gillespie will lead as head coach, with Grant Bradburn as defensive coach, Craig White as assistant coach, Hanif Malik as batting coach and Zac Martin in 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The eleventh edition of the PSL will see a historic change as the traditional player draft has been replaced by a player auction, while the league itself expands to eight teams for the first time.
This expansion marks a significant milestone in the history of PSL, following Multan Sultans’ entry into Season 3, which increased the number of teams from five to six.
With the addition of Hyderabad and Sialkot, the league will now have eight teams competing.
