Big Bash League: Rashid Khan, Kieron Pollard Enter BBL Draft

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, former West Indies international stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have been confirmed in the new draft of the Big Bash League (BBL) for the overseas players.

Rashid Khan is one of the prominent names from overseas players to have played the BBL for Adelaide Strikers in the last five seasons. Rashid has picked 92 wickets in 61 BBL games at an average of 16.69 and an economy rate of 6.44, he is the seventh most wicket-taker in the competition Down Under.  Rashid could be retained by the Adelaide outfit in the draft even if he gets picked by a rival club.

Rashid Khan is unsure of complete availability for complete BBL 2022/23

Rashid played 11 games for the Strikers last season and returned with 20 wickets with the career-best figures of 6 for 17 against Brisbane Heat. He left the BBL 2021/22 to join with the Afghanistan national team for their bilateral series against Ireland.

A player needs to mention their availability when they nominate their name for the draft and there is no confirmation on Rashid’s commitment for the entire season of BBL 2022/23 with Afghanistan expected to have some international fixtures in January next year.

Former West Indies white-ball skipper Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket late in April, which will allow him to play more franchise tournaments across the globe. Pollard’s long-time teammate Dwayne Bravo is also available for the whole season after retiring from the national team at the end of the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE.

Both Pollard and Bravo have previously played in the BBL but not in the last season. Pollard’s last appearance in BBL was made for Melbourne Renegades, while Bravo has represented both the Melbourne outfits – Stars and Renegades – apart from playing for three-time BBL winners Sydney Sixers.

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was among the first group of players confirmed for the draft, which will take place in mid-August.

All current draft nominations for overseas players in BBL 2022/23

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen Ul Haq Murid, Hazratullah Zazai.

West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young. S

South Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw.

New Zealand: Colin Munro and Todd Astle.

Namibia: David Wiese.