Du Plessis, Pooran, Hales headline BBL 2023-24 overseas draft: Details
What's the story
Cricket Australia on Friday (August 11) announced six batters who have signed up for the Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24 overseas draft next month.
The group includes three of the top 15 batters in the ICC T20I batting rankings - Alex Hales, Nicholas Pooran, and Rilee Rossouw.
Laurie Evans, Colin Munro, and Faf du Plessis are the others.
Here are further details.
Context
Why does this story matter?
This year's BBL will get underway on December 7 with a total of 44 games being played.
There will be four rounds of the draft as the clubs can select a minimum of two and a maximum of three players in total.
The first set of players to sign up for the draft are proven stars of the T20 format.
BBL
What is the order of selection?
While the first two rounds will go in the order of the lottery, rounds three and four will 'snake'.
Hence, the team picking last in the second round will pick first in the third round.
Overseas players can sign up in three categories - gold (AUD$300,000), silver (AUD$200,000), and bronze (AUD$100,000). The BBL will then finalize a group of platinum picks.
BBL
Pooran has been making headlines
Pooran, who recently became West Indies's second-highest run-getter in T20Is, has been in sublime form lately.
Earlier this month, he smoked 137 runs off 55 balls for MI New York in the inaugural Major League Cricket final.
Pooran's solitary previous BBL stint came in the 2020-21 season where he made 127 runs across six games at a strike rate of 169.33.
BBL
Hales is a proven BBL star
Hales, who boasts a BBL strike rate of 150.73, is among the most successful overseas batters in the league.
As the England dasher recently announced international retirement, he will be available for the entire season.
Hales is eligible for retention by Sydney Thunder as is Rossouw, the fifth-ranked T20I batter.
The southpaw, however, could only manage 127 runs at 18.14 last season.
BBL
Du Plessis can be a leadership option
Du Plessis, who can be a lucrative leadership option, was unpicked in the Platinum category last year.
However, eventual champions Perth Scorchers picked him as a replacement player and the veteran batter returned with 163 runs in seven games, striking at 153.77.
Munro performed well for Brisbane Heat last season, scoring 278 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 150.27.
BBL
Laurie Evans was banned last season
Du Plessis replaced none other than Evans last season following the latter's positive anti-doping test.
Though his ban has been provisionally uplifted, he faces a hearing later this year.
If cleared, Scorchers would want to retain him as the England star smoked 361 runs at a strike rate of 144.40 in the 2021-22 season.
The tally includes a match-winning 41-ball 76* in the final.
BBL
How does the retention pick work?
Players will be eligible for retention if they fit any of the following criteria:
Have been in a BBL squad for two seasons (minimum) and haven't been contracted to another team since.
Have been in a BBL squad last season.
Was in a team squad last season but did not play in the starting 13 and have been approved by the BBL Technical Committee.
Information
BBL can consider exceptional circumstances
If the player featured in the last season but could not play a match due to "exceptional circumstances," the BBL Technical Committee might approve him as an eligible player for retention.