Tim Paine joins Sialkot Stallionz [Source: @CallMeSheri1_/x]The Sialkot Stallionz franchise has appointed former Australia captain Tim Paine as the head coach of the franchise for the upcoming PSL 2026 season. Paine has prior coaching experience in BBL for the Adelaide Strikers following his retirement from all forms of the game. It is worth noting that Sialkot Stallionz is one of the two new franchises introduced to the league’s roaster ahead of PSL 2026. Mere days after the Hyderabad franchise appointed former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie as its head coach, the Stallionz also placed its faith in Australian expertise by roping in a former international captain. Tim Paine to bring the Australian flair to Sialkot Stallionz On Thursday, January 29, the Sialkot Stallionz franchise reportedly named former Australian captain Tim Paine as its new head coach. While the report was confirmed by Pakistan journalist Qadir Khawaja, the Sialkot Stallionz franchise also dropped a major social media update to hint the appointment of the cricketer-turned-coach. The signing made by the Sialkot Stallionz means that both new PSL franchises have decided to commence their PSL journey with a former Australian cricketer at the helm of the coaching staff. Tim Paine has previously served the Adelaide Strikers team as an assistant coach after he was appointed for the role back in August 2023. In late 2024, the former cricketer was also named the head coach of the Australia Prime Minister’s XI team for a match against the visiting Indian group. Tim Paine playing career Tim Paine was tasked to lead the Australian cricket team during one of their most turbulent phases in the game this century. Under his leadership, Australia retained an Ashes in England for the first time in nearly two decades, doing so by levelling the series 2-2 in mid-2019. Australia also enjoyed considerable success at home during his time as captain, whitewashing visiting teams like Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the space of a year. Overall, Tim Paine represented the Australian team in 35 Tests, 35 ODIs and 12 T20Is, aggregating over 2,500 runs in the process across all formats. He has played 81 T20 matches, and was a Hobart Hurricanes regular during his playing days. Jason Gillespie, Luke Ronchi join PSL 2026 Earlier this week, former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie was named head coach of the Hyderabad franchise for PSL 2026. Reacting to the official announcement, the ex-Pakistan coach expressed his excitement and said that he is looking forward to joining the franchise. Ex-New Zealand and Australia cricketer Luke Ronchi was also appointed as the head coach of the Islamabad United franchise for the tournament. Ronchi previously played 31 PSL games for the United franchise spanning three different seasons between the years 2017 and 2021. As of now, all eight franchises are preparing to shape their squads and coaching staff for PSL 2026. The eleventh edition of the tournament is scheduled to be played between March 26 and May 3.
