West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and New Zealand pacer Trent Boult's names were shortlisted among the 12 platinum-level players, eligible to be picked in the first round of the Big Bash League (BBL) draft.
Melbourne Stars, who have the second pick in August 28's BBL-12 Draft, hold the right to retain Russell as the Caribbean star played five matches for the club last season.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest T20 players, Russell (564) is currently at the third position in the list of highest six-hitter in the shortest format only behind Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard.
The other platinum nominees in the BBL-12 draft include South Africa's Faf du Plessis, England's Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Sam Billings, Chris Jordan and David Willey, West Indies' Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, Pakistan's Shadab Khan, and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.
"Under the BBL Draft rules, only the 12 platinum players are eligible to be picked in the first round, while platinum or gold level players can be taken in the second round," said a report in cricket.com.au
A total of 279 players have registered their names in the BBL-12 draft.
Recently, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) agreed to release senior pacer Trent Boult from its player contract list, allowing him to spend more time with his family and feature in domestic leagues around the globe.
The 33-year-old requested to be released and after a series of conversations with NZC, the cricket board accepted his request.
"But like most of the other draft nominees allocated platinum status, both Boult and Russell will only be available for the first part of BBL-12 before jetting off to other leagues in early January. Boult has been picked up by the Mumbai Indians-owned MI Emirates team in UAE's new International League T20 (ILT20) competition while Russell will play for his Kolkata Knight Riders-owned franchise, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders," the report added.
"Close to 280 players from around the world have elected to venture to Australia this summer and experience the best of the BBL and summer lifestyle our country offers," Alistair Dobson said, Cricket Australia's General Manager of Big Bash League.
