Smith to make PSL debut in 2026 with Sialkot Stallionz

Steven Smith will participate in the Pakistan Super League this year for the first time. Sialkot Stallionz, one of the two franchises debuting in 2026, unveiled Smith as the tournament's first direct signing.

While Smith, 36, has not featured for the Australian T20I side in two years, he will come to the PSL off the back of a stellar Big Bash League season, where he helped his side, Sydney Sixers, finish as runners-up. He scored 299 runs in the tournament, averaging just under 60 at a strike rate of 167.97, scoring a century and two fifties. He opened the batting for the Sixers alongside Babar Azam, who had a more subdued BBL, in a number of games.

There is a distinctly Australian flavour to the Stallionz, who were bought by Hamza Majeed, a Pakistani-Australian real estate magnate, paying a franchise fee of PKR 1.85 billion a year (USD 6.55 million), the highest off all eight sides. Last week, former Australian captain Tim Paine was announced as the side's head coach for 2026.

"One of the all time great players is a PSL Stallionz!", Paine posted on X. "Huge for our franchise and the PSL T20."

A full auction for the 11th season of the PSL takes place on February 11, the first time squads will be filled in this way instead of a draft. Each side will be allowed to stock between 16 and 20 players, with five to seven overseas signings allowed. Once brought in, players will be engaged to two-year contracts with their franchise, with the stipulation applying both to retained players and those snapped up at the auction. Each side will have to pick one local player under the age of 23 who is yet to play the PSL.

Smith's signing was enabled by a new rule that allowed franchises to directly sign one player outside the scope of the auction itself, with an increased purse allowed to accommodate that signing. Each franchise has an auction purse of PKR 450 million (USD 1.6 million), which can be extended to PKR 505 million (USD 1.8 million) to accommodate the direct signing.

The PSL season starts on March 26, with the final on May 3.