Sialkot is officially on its way back to Pakistan’s biggest T20 stage. The city has been bought as the 8th Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, with OZ Developers stepping in as the new owners.
But the moment the ownership news broke, the conversation among fans didn’t stay stuck on auction figures or corporate press lines. It shifted to one thing almost instantly: what should this team be called? And across social media and cricket circles, one name keeps surfacing again and again: Sialkot Stallions.
With a new franchise comes a familiar PSL playbook: build a brand, lock in a fan identity, then assemble the cricket operation. That’s where OZ Developers’ plans become central.
The owners aren’t just buying a team, they’re buying a market, a city identity, and a long-term commercial product. That usually means a fresh franchise name and logo designed for mass appeal, aggressive marketing and sponsorship alignment, and a “new era” message aimed at younger PSL audiences.
That’s normal business. But Sialkot isn’t a blank slate. It’s a cricket city with history, and fans are making it clear they don’t want the franchise to feel manufactured.
The Sialkot Stallions weren’t a minor domestic team that people remember vaguely. They were a genuine powerhouse in Pakistan’s National T20 setup, an era when domestic T20 was shaping what the format could look like in the country.
Their squads over the years featured major Pakistan names and fan favorites, including players like Shoaib Malik, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq, and Haris Sohail. These players were part of the Stallions folklore in which Sialkot won five consecutive National T20 titles.
No major T20 franchise era, anywhere, has produced a title streak that comes close to matching that kind of sustained dominance. That streak is why fans don’t treat the Stallions’ name like a random suggestion. It’s a brand tied to a record that still looks untouchable.
Supporters pushing for a Stallions comeback aren’t just asking for an old logo on a new jersey. Their argument is bigger: this identity belongs in PSL because it’s older than the modern franchise boom.
That’s the case fans are making: if PSL is supposed to represent Pakistan’s cricket culture, not just its commercial expansion, then reviving the Sialkot Stallions isn’t just a branding decision. It’s acknowledging a legacy that predates the franchise era most of the world associates with T20.
And for a new PSL team trying to win hearts quickly, there may not be a better shortcut than choosing a name people already chant like it never left.
