Former Australia captain Steve Smith will continue his comeback to cricket as he entered the draft for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019. Smith is joined by prolific South Africa batsman, AB De Villiers, who will be another star attraction at this year’s draft. The tournament will run from February 14 to March 17 next year with eight matches set to be played in Pakistan.

Smith is facing a ban from International cricket since the infamous Cape Town Test against South Africa in March, but recently featured in the Global T20 Canada League and represented his side Sutherland in the Sydney Premier Cricket.

His appearance in the PSL will help him fine tune for the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Ashes series in England next year.

Rashid joins the party

Other star appearances include the spin sensation from Afghanistan, Rashid Khan, who will be looking to play his first PSL game this year after being called up for national duty last year. West Indies trio of Sunil Narine, Keiron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo as well as the Kiwi duo of Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan are also a part of this year’s draft.

Pollard, the Multan Sultans all-rounder, said he was looking forward to playing in the PSL once again. "PSL is an extremely competitive tournament," said Pollard. "Whenever availability permits, I always look forward to playing at the PSL," he added.

Sunil Narine, who has been an integral part of the Lahore Qalandars squad, shared his excitement at seeing so many stars sign up for the 2019 edition. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the PSL in all these seasons," said Narine. "The next year should be even bigger and better with such an impressive player roster."

Australian star Chris Lynn, who was ruled out of last year’s tournament for Lahore Qalandars due to an injury, has also signed with the PSL again for the upcoming season.

Lynn is joined on the list by fellow Australian star Shane Watson who topped the batting charts for Quetta Gladiators last year with 319 runs in 10 matches.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ehsan Mani announced that PSL will continue to announce more foreign player signings in various categories.

“This is a very exciting mix of top quality foreign players,” said Mr. Ehsan Mani, Chairman PCB. “In the next few days, PSL will continue to announce more foreign player signings in various categories as the excitement grows around what should be an extremely interesting Player Draft.”