Franchise Cricket

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Former champions Multan Sultans have returned to the Pakistan Super League after new franchise Sialkot Stallionz was purchased.

Stallionz were purchased in January but have been taken over by a new investor and renamed as Multan Sultans.

Sultans were a franchise in last year's competition, but the Pakistan Cricket Board had a dispute with owner Ali Khan Tareen, who decided not to renew his ownership when it ended between seasons.

Stallionz had appointed former Australia Test captain Tim Paine as their inaugural head coach and had signed Australia batter Steve Smith pre-auction.

They also signed Australia's Josh Phillipe, Ashton Turner and Peter Siddle and South Arica's Tabraiz Shamsi at the auction.

Their Pakistan players include Sahibzada Farhan, who is the leading run-scorer after the Super 8 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup, and Test captain Shan Masood.

The 2026 PSL is set to start on 26 March but no schedule has been released.

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The fourth edition of the Women's Premier League has ended with Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning their second title with victory over Delhi Capitals.

But who was the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker? And who else impressed? BBC Sport looks at all the key stats.

Top run-scorers and Orange Cap winner

1. Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) - 377 runs

2. Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians) - 342

3. Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians) - 321

4. Lizelle Lee (Delhi Capitals) - 320

5. Laura Wolvaardt (Delhi Capitals) - 317

Harmanpreet finished with the highest average (68.40), Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Grace Harris had the highest strike-rate (178.19) and Harmanpreet and Sophie Devine hit the most sixes (13).

Top wicket-takers and Purple Cap winner

=1. Sophie Devine (Gujarat Giants) & Nandani Sharma (Delhi Capitals) - 17 wickets

3. Nadine de Klerk (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) - 16

=4. Amelia Kerr (Mumbai Indians), Shree Charani & Chinelle Henry (both Delhi Capitals) - 14

Kerr had the best average (15.00 - min 10 overs), Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Lauren Bell had the best economy rate (5.52) and Devine had the best strike-rate (11.58 - min 10 overs).

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Australia batter Steve Smith will play in the Pakistan Super League for the first time after signing for new franchise Sialkot Stallionz.

Smith, 36, is available after failing to earn a contract in the Indian Premier League and joins up with his former Australia captain Tim Paine.

The right-hander has scored 6,242 runs in 272 T20s, at a healthy average of 32.68, but has been left out of Australia's squad for this month's T20 World Cup.

Paine posted on X, saying that Smith is "one of the all-time great players" and the signing was "huge for our franchise and the PSL".

The announcement came on the day that the six existing sides had to name their retentions for the new season.

Each side were allowed to retain up to four players, with a maximum of one in each price category.

Sialkot and the other new side, Kingsmen Hyderabad, have until 6 February to make direct signings, before all eight sides complete their squads at the inaugural auction on 11 February.

The new season starts on 26 March.

PSL retentions:

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan, Salman Irshad, Andries Gous

Karachi Kings: Hasan Ali, Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Saad Baig

Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Afridi, Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Naeem

Multan Sultans: No retentions

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza

Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Hasan Nawaz, Shamyl Hussain

Huzaifah Khan
BBC Sport journalist

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Delhi Capitals secured a spot in the Women's Premier League final for the fourth successive year with a seven-wicket win over Gujarat Giants.

The victory means the Capitals face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Thursday's final.

The Capitals won the toss and decided to bowl, and at the halfway stage the game looked well poised after the Giants set their opponents 169 to chase down.

Beth Mooney top-scored for the Giants with 62 not out off 51 balls while Georgia Wareham added late impetus with 35 off 25.

However, the Capitals raced away and never looked back as openers Lizelle Lee (43) and Shafali Verma (31) put them in a commanding position.

Giants bowler Wareham did threaten to halt the momentum as she dismissed both openers in her first over but it was too little too late as the Capitals needed just 77 from 72 balls with eight wickets remaining at this point.

Captain Jemimah Rodrigues hit 41 before Laura Wolvaardt's 34 not out saw the Capitals home by seven wickets with 26 balls remaining.

It was the first time the Capitals have had to qualify for the final through the Eliminator, having finished top of the table for the last three years, yet they are still on the hunt for their first title after losing on each occasion to the side that won through this play-off.

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Delhi Capitals booked their place in the Women's Premier League play-offs with a five-wicket win over UP Warriorz.

The victory means Capitals will face Gujarat Giants in Tuesday's Eliminator, for a place against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Thursday's final.

The defeat leaves UP Warriorz bottom of the five-team table, and defending champions Mumbai Indians drop down to fourth and miss out on the play-offs for the first time in the tournament's four-year history.

Capitals won the toss in Vadodara and elected to bowl first and got off to a superb start with West Indies all-rounder Chinelle Henry trapping Meg Lanning lbw with the game's first ball.

It set the tone for the innings as Warriorz struggled up to 122-8 with opener Deepti Sharma top-scoring with 24.

South Africa's Marizanne Kapp was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3-30, including the wicket of Deepti and West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin.

Capitals lost Lizelle Lee in the second over but Shafali Verma and Laura Wolvaardt put on 73 for the second wicket to put them in control.

However, both fell in quick succession, and Kapp and Henry followed to leave Capitals 101-5 and needing 22 from 22 balls.

They got over the line with eight balls to spare with captain Jemimah Rodrigues making an unbeaten 34 off 18 balls.

• WPL fixtures

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Gujarat Giants sealed their place in the Women's Premier League play-offs with an 11-run victory that leaves defending champions Mumbai Indians vulnerable to an early exit.

Mumbai, who won the tournament in 2023 and 2025, failed to chase 168 and will be eliminated if Delhi Capitals beat UP Warriorz on Sunday.

A Warriorz win could also see Mumbai eliminated, but it would need a big net run-rate swing for that to happen.

They slipped to 37-3 with West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews out for six and England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed for two.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and New Zealand's Melie Kerr put on 45 for the fourth wicket, before the former shared 42 with Amanjot Kaur.

However, they slipped to 127-6 after 17.2 overs, before Harmanpreet hit two fours in the 19th over, leaving 26 required off the last.

She hit Ash Gardner's first ball for six, before doing the same with the third delivery.

However, she was only able to take a single off the fourth and then Poonam Khemnar was caught attempting to clear the ropes.

Harmanpreet was left stranded on 82 not out off 48 balls, while Sophie Devine and Georgia Wareham picked up 2-23 and 2-26 respectively for Giants.

Wareham had earlier made 44 not out off 26 balls to help Giants get up to 167-4, with Gardner top-scoring with 46.

Giants will face one of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals or UP Warriorz in the Eliminator on Tuesday, with the winner of that game facing Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Thursday's final.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Australia's Grace Harris starred as Royal Challengers Bengaluru booked their place in the Women's Premier League final with a comfortable eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz.

The all-rounder took 2-22 with the ball as RCB opted to bowl first and restricted Warriorz to 143-8.

South Africa's Nadine de Klerk took 4-22, including the key wickets of Meg Lanning (41), that broke an opening stand of 74 with Deepti Sharma (55), and England wicketkeeper Amy Jones (1) on her WPL debut.

England's Lauren Bell (1-21) again impressed, bowling 14 dot balls in her four overs.

Harris then led the charge in the chase as she crashed 75 off 37 balls in an opening stand of 108 with Smriti Mandhana.

She was dismissed off the first ball of the 10th over, but RCB returned to winning ways with 41 balls to spare, with Mandhana making an unbeaten 54.

RCB had already secured a play-off place after wins in their opening five games, but will now have a week off before attempting to win their second WPL title in the final at Vadodara International Cricket Stadium on 5 February (14:00 GMT).

The defeat leaves Warriorz bottom and they could be eliminated on Friday if Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Giants.

If Giants win, and seal a play-off place, then Warriorz's game against Delhi Capitals on Sunday will decide which of the three sides takes the final spot.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Former Australia captain Tim Paine has been appointed as the head coach of new Pakistan Super League side Sialkot Stallionz.

Paine, 41, has been assistant coach at Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League and has led a Prime Minister's XI against India and England in the past two winters.

He was captain of 23 Tests between 2018 and 2020, winning 11 and losing eight.

He stepped down in November 2021 after an investigation into historical messages with a colleague and never played for Australia again.

The wicketkeeper played state cricket in the 2022-23 season, before retiring at the end of the campaign.

Paine will have to build their squad from scratch at the PSL's first auction on 11 February, before leading the team in the new season from 26 March.

Sialkot are one of two new sides - alongside a Hyderabad-named franchise - for the 2026 season.

Paine's appointment follows Jason Gillespie being named Hyderabad coach and Luke Ronchi taking over at Islamabad United.