Some of the leading names of world cricket like Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, and Liam Livingstone headline the early signings for the Big Bash League (BBL) overseas draft on Sunday (August 28).
England swashbuckler Livingstone was the first pick of the draft and will represent Melbourne Renegades in the upcoming edition. Adelaide Strikers retained Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan while Melbourne Stars roped in Trent Boult, who was recently released by New Zealand Cricket from its player contract list after the left-arm pacer requested for the same.
Other notable picks in the first round were Sam Billings to Brisbane Heat, Chris Jordan to Sydney Sixers, David Willey to Sydney Thunders, and Shadab Khan to Hobart Hurricanes. Sydney Thunders also managed to secure the services of Alex Hales, while the Sixers signed James Vince besides Jordan.
Perth Scorchers were the only team to not select any player in their first round.
“Availability is a real key for us. We know what type of player we want, the skill set we want…we love guys coming back who have played for us before and fit into our group really well,” head coach Adam Voges was quoted by ESPNCricinfo. However, they made sure of familiarity after signing Laurie Evans and Tymal Mills.
The overseas draft also surprised many as at least five big players went unselected, including the likes of Faf Du Plessis, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Jason Roy.
It is worth mentioning here that the BBL season 2022-23 will clash with new T20 tournaments – UAE’s International League T20 and South Africa’s T20 league in January. Most of the team owners of the two new T20 leagues are also the IPL franchise owners and they have signed some of the star players. As a result, BBL teams might have left out the players owing to their availability.
“The challenge the BBL teams have faced the last few years has been the international players coming in and out. You get two or three games out of one, and then you have to try to fill that slot with someone of a similar role and ability, and that’s pretty hard to do. And if these players are coming in and out, you’ve got to have money to fill their voids as well. When you’re trying to balance the salary cap, it’s not easy to do,” Ricky Ponting was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Hobart Hurricanes’ picks featured the Pakistanis only as they signed Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf besides Shadab.
Here is the list of picks at the end of the draft –
Melbourne Renegades: Liam Livingstone, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Melbourne Stars: Trent Boult, Joe Clarke, Luke Wood
Brisbane Heat: Sam Billings, Colin Munro, Ross Whiteley
Sydney Sixers: Chris Jordan, Izharulhaq Naveed, James Vince
Adelaide Strikers: Rashid Khan (retained), Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Hose
Perth Scorchers: Laurie Evans (retained), Tymal Mills, Phil Salt
Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw, David Willey
Hobart Hurricanes: Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali
