KARACHI: Four Pakistani star cricketers — Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan — have registered for the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) draft.
In total, over 600 international players have registered for the draft, including Pakistan Women’s team captain Fatima Sana, whose name is also among the available players for the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) draft.
The draft for BBL 15 and WBBL 11 is scheduled to take place on June 19.
The initial list for BBL 15 features Pakistan’s Shaheen, Rizwan, Haris, and Shadab among other players. They are joined by international stars such as West Indies’ Shamar Joseph, New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee, England’s Sam Curran and Alex Hales, and Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera.
For WBBL 11, the initial list includes England’s Heather Knight, Lauren Bell, Danni Wyatt, and Sophie Ecclestone; India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey; South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon; and West Indies’ Deandra Dottin. All-rounder Fatima is also part of this draft.
The complete list of registered players and details of their availability for the draft will be released soon.
BBL General Manager Alistair Dobson expressed excitement about the participation of these global stars, stating that their inclusion will add a new dimension to the BBL. He highlighted that names like Shaheen, Rizwan, Heather Knight, and Sophie Ecclestone demonstrate that both BBL and WBBL are attractive leagues for top players worldwide.
“We are very excited by the nominations for the Big Bash Leagues drafts including some global superstars who will add enormous intrigue as the clubs compete for the best available talent.
“Having household names such as Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone nominate demonstrates the continuing appeal of the Big Bash Leagues to some of the world’s best players.
