India Pacer And James Anderson Surprisingly Nominated For BBL 2025-26 Draft

The much-awaited players' draft for the upcoming season of the Big Bash League is scheduled to take place on Thursday (June 19).

The final list of players nominated for the draft was unveiled on Tuesday (June 17).

Siddarth Kaul and James Anderson Nominated For BBL Draft

Two notable names that have been nominated are former India pacer Siddarth Kaul and England legend James Anderson. Kaul announced his retirement from cricket in India in November last year, while Anderson brought downthe curtains on his illustrious international career after the Lord's Test against West Indies in July last year.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Kaul represented India in both the white-ball formats. He played 88 first-class games, 111 List A games, and 145 T20s and picked up more than 600 wickets across formats.

Anderson, on the other hand, is one of the most decorated fast bowlers of all time. He retired from Tests with the most wickets as a pacer. In 188 Tests, Anderson picked up 704 wickets. He also represented England in 194 ODIs and 19 T20Is, taking 269 and 18 wickets respectively.

Siddharth Kaul eyes BBL history

Siddharth Kaul can create history if he gets a BBL deal. While he will not be the first Indian cricketer to play in the BBL, he will be the first from India to play in the tournament after representing the senior Indian team at the international level.

Earlier in 2021, Unmukt Chand became the first-ever Indian male cricketer to get a contract from a BBL franchise. He was signed up by the Melbourne Renegades. Chand earned the deal after retiring from Indian cricket and moving to the USA. While Chand led India to glory in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, he did not get the chance to play for the senior team.

I feel I still have 3-4 years of cricket left in me - Siddharth Kaul

On the other hand, Kaul played 3 ODIs and as many T20Is for Team India. Having retired from international cricket, Kaul is now looking to play in overseas T20 leagues. After announcing his retirement last year, Kaul had told ESPNCricinfo:

"I feel I still have 3-4 years of cricket left in me, but I wanted to go out on a high, when I was at peak fitness and performing well rather than being asked to go due to fitness or non-performance at some other point.

"If you see my graph over the past 9-10 years, I've been performing really well across formats. So I felt this was a good time to go. Hopefully going forward, whatever opportunities arise, like in county cricket, or Legends League, MLC etc, I'd like to explore them if I get the chance," he added.

On the other hand, Anderson can become the oldest overseas player in the BBL if he is signed by any team. The England legend is set to turn 43 next month.

Also Read: Watch: James Anderson Laughs Off Comparison Between Sachin Tendulkar And Fab Four