Smith becomes PSL’s costliest signing

Seasoned Australian batter Steve Smith fetched PKR 14 crore as a direct signing in the revamped 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League, making him the most expensive player in the league’s history. Smith, who is on his way to replace the injured Mitchell Marsh in Australia’s World T20 Cup squad, was bought by the new franchise Sialkot Stallions for approximately $500,000. The PSL has expanded to eight teams from six, with the Pakistan Cricket Board introducing a players’ auction system for the first time, replacing the draft format that had been in place for the last decade.

The auction held in Lahore on Wednesday saw some notable overseas players, including David Warner, Adam Zampa, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mustafizur Rahman, Devon Conway, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamshi, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Mendis and Marnus Labuschagne. A total of 103 players were signed by the eight franchises.

Fast bowler Naseem Shah emerged as the most expensive Pakistani signing after being bought by Islamabad United for PKR 8.65 crore. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf also joined the same franchise for PKR 8.5 crore. Babar Azam was retained by Peshawar Zalmi for PKR 7 crore, while the most expensive retention was Saim Ayub, who was retained by the same franchise for PKR 12.2 crore.

The PSL is due to be held from March 26 to May 3 and will clash directly with the more lucrative and prominent Indian Premier League. Two new franchises - Sialkot and Hyderabad - have been added after their rights were purchased by overseas Pakistani businessmen for PKR 185,000 crore and PKR 175,000 crore, respectively. Multan Sultans was also sold and rebranded as Rawalpindi after new owners acquired the franchise rights.