Big Bash League introduces draft system to attract overseas T20 stars
MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia (CA) has announced the introduction of a draft system for the upcoming Big Bash League, allowing franchises to select up to three foreign players.
The BBL confirmed the introduction of a preliminary four-tier structure after facing a two-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic to attract T20 megastars to Australia for the 2022-23 edition.
BBL teams will select their international stars for BBL|12 in an all-new Draft!This is how everything will work ➡️
Draft date will be announced soon 👀 head over to https://t.co/m11ahuhv5F to be updated!#BBL12Draft
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) June 22, 2022
CA has stated that the draft will take place in the coming months, while nominations have opened up around the world, promising global competitive rates for nominated players.
Explaining how the new draft system works, BBL announced via its official Twitter account that players will nominate themselves online for part or all of the tournament. They can nominate for three salary categories: Gold, Silver and Bronze. The BBL will then elevate the biggest names to Platinum status.
The clubs will choose the players in an order decided through a weighted lottery. The first weighted lottery to determine selections one, two and three will include the three clubs that did not advance to the KFC BBL|11 finals. The five finalists from the previous season will be chosen for options four through eight.
There will be four rounds in the draft, with one selection for each Club, which may skip some rounds, but at the end of the fourth round, each club must choose a minimum of two and a maximum of three participants.
Each team is allowed one retention pick, which can be used in any round of the Draft. If a player has been part of the Club the previous season, he is eligible for retention.
The BBL team of each Club will be composed of 18 players, with two or three foreign players selected from the Draft, while the rest must be national players. Clubs will be able to sign up to five foreign replacement players after the conclusion of the Draft. To be an eligible replacement overseas, a player must have been nominated for the Draft, unless approved by the League.
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