To the surprise of many, several fringe T20 stars like Faf du Plessis, Andre Russell, and Kieron Pollard did not find any suitors among the eight franchises.
A total of 12 players were included in the marquee list in the $340,000 bracket, out of which only seven players were picked.
England’s Liam Livingstone was the first pick of the inaugural draft by the Melbourne Renegades.
Speaking about picking the English all-rounder after receiving the first pick of the draft, coach David Saker said:
The Melbourne Stars’ attempt at Rashid Khan was blocked by the Adelaide Strikers, who elected to retain the young leg-spinner. Franchise head coach Jason Gillespie said:
Only two franchises opted to use the retention pick option during the draft. Apart from the Strikers, defending champions Perth Scorchers chose to retain Laurie Evans.
Shadab Khan, Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf all roped in by the Hobart Hurricanes in the inaugural BBL draft
A total of three Pakistan players were picked in the draft, all of them for the Hobart Hurricanes. Shadab Khan, who was included in the top bracket, was the Matthew Wade-led side’s first pick in the draft. The leg-spinner has represented the Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers in the past.
Speaking about the decision to go for Shadab Khan as their first pick in the BBL draft, Ricky Ponting said:
Despite the likes of Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis being available by the time the Hurricanes got to make their pick, Ponting backed the decision to go for Shadab Khan. He said:
The Hurricanes, with the last pick in three of the four rounds of the inaugural BBL draft, picked Asif Ali and Faheen Ashraf off their remaining draft picks.
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