Good news for PSL. Pakistan’s premier T20 tournament seems to be attracting some big foreign names. Now, their new franchise Sialkot Stallionz has signed former Australia skipper Steve Smith for PSL 11, which will be played from March 26 to May 3. The announcement was made on team’s social media account.
Sialkot Stallionz get Steve Smith
“One of the Biggest Signings in PSL History: A game-changer, powerhouse player— we welcome Steve Smith on board as a Stallion,” the post read. This will be his debut season in the PSL, after he had a great BBL showing this year for Sydney Sixers. There he scored 299 runs in 6 matches, at a strike-rate of 168, including a to and two fifties.
Meanwhile, earlier the team had appointed Tim Paine as their head coach. The team Sialkot Stallionz is owned by OZ Developers, who bagged the PSL franchise on JAN 8. That said, this time around, the teams will have a players auction which will be held on Feb 11. The player retention date for the two new franchises have also been announced. The decision will have be made by Feb 6.
The base prices for the PSL auction have been revealed as well. The lowest category base price starts with PKR 60 lakh, followed by 1.1 crore, 2.2 crore, and 4.2 crore.
As far as Smith’s T20 record is concerned, he has played 272 matches and has scored 6242 runs. His strike-rate has been 131 and has scored at an average of 32. That includes 5 tons and 30 fifties. He last played in the IPL in 2021.
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