Livingstone, Rashid, Shadab, and Boult are among the overseas stars picked in the BBL draft
Liam Livingstone was taken by Melbourne Renegades in the upcoming 12th edition of the Big Bash League after the English powerhouse became the first pick in the inaugural draft on Sunday (August 28).
Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, and Shadab Khan were among the other players who were in the headlines in a list of 24 overseas players in the competition’s first round of draft including 332 overseas players from 20 countries.
Melbourne Stars were fighting for Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan but he was retained by the Adelaide Strikers for the sixth straight season.
Stars went out with Boult as their first pick, who is a platinum category player. The others who were sold out in the opening round were Sam Billings (Brisbane Heat) Chris Jordan (Sydney Sixers), David Willey (Sydney Thunder), and Shadab Khan (Hobart Hurricanes) while Perth Scorchers ‘passed’ on their Rd 1 selection.
Players were selected over four different salary bands. Only 12 platinum ($340,000) players could be selected in the first round, platinum and gold ($260,000) in Rd 2, gold and silver ($175,000) in Rd 3, and silver and bronze ($100,000) in Rd 4.
In the subsequent rounds, Joe Clarke (Stars), Alex Hales (Thunder), Tymal Mills (Scorchers), and James Vince (Sixers) went to their existing clubs and Laurie Evans will return to Scorchers as retention.
Among the BBL regulars, Colin Munro (Heat), Phil Salt (Scorchers), and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Renegades) will each turn up for new sides in the upcoming edition.
BBL DRAFT PICKS
Round 1
| Name | Country | BBL Team |
| Liam Livingstone | England | Melbourne Renegades |
| Rashid Khan (R) | Afghanistan | Adelaide Strikers |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | Melbourne Stars |
| Sam Billings | England | Brisbane Heat |
| Chris Jordan | England | Sydney Sixers |
| Pass | – | Perth Scorchers |
| David Willey | England | Sydney Thunder |
| Shadab Khan | Pakistan | Hobart Hurricanes |
Round 2
| Name | Country | BBL Team |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Afghanistan | Melbourne Renegades |
| Joe Clarke | England | Melbourne Stars |
| Colin Munro | New Zealand | Brisbane Heat |
| Laurie Evans (R) | England | Perth Scorchers |
| James Vince | England | Sydney Sixers |
| Colin de Grandhomme | New Zealand | Adelaide Strikers |
| Alex Hales | England | Sydney Thunder |
| Asif Ali | Pakistan | Hobart Hurricanes |
Round 3
| Name | Country | BBL Team |
| Faheem Ashraf | Pakistan | Hobart Hurricanes |
| Rilee Rossouw | South Africa | Sydney Thunder |
| Phil Salt | England | Perth Scorchers |
| Adam Hose | England | Adelaide Strikers |
| Pass | – | Sydney Sixers |
| Pass | – | Brisbane Heat |
| Luke Wood | England | Melbourne Stars |
Round 4
| Name | Country | BBL Team |
| Akeal Hossein | West Indies | Melbourne Renegades |
| Ross Whiteley | England | Brisbane Heat |
| Izharulhuq Naveed | Afghanistan | Sydney Sixers |
| Pass | – | Adelaide Strikers |
| Tymal Mills | England | Perth Scorchers |
| Pass | – | Sydney Thunder |
| Pass | – | Hobart Hurricanes |
“The inaugural BBL Draft was a resounding success and the perfect way to begin the countdown to the summer of Big Bash,”
Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s General Manager, Big Bash Leagues, said.
“The League is delighted to welcome a host of the world’s biggest names to the competition, complemented by the next group up and comers.”
The contracting period for the replacement of overseas players will commence on Monday (August 29). The eight clubs can contract a maximum of seven overseas players for the season, split as either three primaries (via Draft night) and four replacements, or two primary and five replacements.