The Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans will be without their star acquisition Steve Smith for the upcoming edition.

According to Cricket Australia, the former Australia captain left the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) midway after suffering an elbow injury — for which a surgery is required.

The expected date of recovery is around one and half months which means that his participation in the upcoming edition of the PSL is unlikely.

“I am disappointed I won’t be able to play in HBL PSL but I wish Multan Sultans all the best for this year’s tournament,” said Steve Smith in an official statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “I was looking forward to playing the tournament and helping the team try to win the trophy. We have a talented team and I am confident that they will do very well.”

A PCB spokesman also shared his thoughts on Smith's injury  and stated: “We are sad to lose a player of Steve’s calibre but we wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully we will see him in future editions of HBL PSL, the league fans would miss seeing him live in action this season.”

Multan Sultans will now seek a replacement for Smith at the Replacement Draft later this month.

The Replacement Draft date with the pick order will be announced in due course.

The right-handed batsman featured in just two matches for franchise Comilla Victorians in the BPL before heading home.

Smith, who was leading Comilla in the tournament, scored just 13 runs in his two matches, including a duck in the last match, in which his team was dismissed for a lowly 63 runs.

Smith is currently serving a one-year ban from international cricket and Australia’s domestic cricket over a ball-tampering scandal, which took place during the third Test against South Africa last year.