BBL overseas draft: Boult to play for Stars, Strikers retain Rashid, Livingstone joins Renegades – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Liam Livingstone, Trent Boult, and Rashid Khan were some of the early signings for the BBL overseas draft on Sunday, but as many as five big players went unselected including the likes of Faf Du Plessis and the giant Andre Russell.

England powerhitter Livingstone was the first pick of the draft and will play for Melbourne Renegades alongside Aussie skipper Aaron Finch in the upcoming edition. Adelaide Strikers retained leg spinner Rashid Khan, while Melbourne Stars picked Trent Boult, who recently withdrew from his central contract owing to excessive pressure.

Other significant 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 were also able to bring home Alex Hales, while the Sixers also managed to pick James Vince besides Jordan.

Perth Scorchers were the only outlet to pass on their first-round selection. They were rued for the availability of the players and hence decided to do without a platinum player. “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 ESPN Cricinfo. However, they ensured familiarity after picking Laurie Evans and Tymal Mills.

Several big names in the platinum list to go unselected were Proteas’ Faf Du Plessis, and a fistful of Caribbean players including Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and England’s Jason Roy.

Notably, the Big Bash will coincide with other big tournaments – UAE’s International League T20 and South Africa’s T20 league in January. Accordingly, the franchises have already signed some of the star players for those leagues and the 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 ESPN Cricinfo.

Hobart Hurricanes built a strong Pakistan connection, picking Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf, besides leg spinner Shadab.

From Monday, the teams can sign replacement players to fill spaces created by initial selections who will miss parts of the BBL. With teams taking three overseas players in the draft, they have four replacement slots. The players can be anyone nominated in the draft.

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

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