Pakistan influx as full BBL Draft pool revealed

Pakistan quartet Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Rizwan have been unveiled as the latest T20 superstars to nominate for the KFC BBL|13 Draft as the league today released a full list of nominees for this year's event.

A bumper pool of 376 overseas players from 29 countries have put their hand up to play in the BBL this summer with at least 30 Pakistan internationals joining South African power-hitters Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, West Indian allrounder Jason Holder and Zimbabwe talisman Sikandar Raza.

Naseem, Rizwan, de Kock, van der Dussen and Raza are yet to play in the Big Bash, while Rauf is a crowd favourite at the MCG after representing Melbourne Stars for three seasons from 2019-2022 and Shadab was drafted last year by the Hobart Hurricanes, with both players eligible for retention by those clubs on Sunday.

Former West Indies captain Holder also played three games for the Sydney Sixers in in BBL|09 where he hit 62 runs striking at 182 but doesn't qualify for a retention pick.

And as reported by cricket.com.au on Thursday, today's announcement confirms that Rashid Khan has nominated for this year's draft and is eligible to be retained by Adelaide Strikers despite saying in January that he was "strongly considering" not returning to the BBL in protest over Cricket Australia cancelling a scheduled ODI series against Afghanistan.

The full list of nominees and whether they are eligible to be retained by any of the eight clubs can be found below.

League officials also released 122 names up for grabs in the inaugural Weber WBBL draft which precedes the men's draft this Sunday.

The league on Wednesday is expected to elevate more than 40 men's and women's players to the platinum tier, making them eligible for selection in the first round of the draft.

Players selected with a platinum pick in the BBL|13 Draft will pocket up to $420,000 this season.

Joining the star Pakistan quartet in the draft pool will be international regulars Fakhar Zaman, Usama Mir and Shan Masood, emerging quick Mohammad Hasnain and veterans Yasir Shah, Asif Ali and Usman Shinwari.

If selected, it will be Hasnain's first appearance back in the competition since being banned from bowling for an illegal action after he was reported by umpire Gerard Abood during his BBL debut for the Sydney Thunder in January 2022.

The 23-year-old, who took seven wickets at 15 during his five-game stint with the Thunder in BBL|11, underwent four months of remedial work before being clear to bowl internationally again in June last year.

The Stars have already indicated in their 'Road to the Draft' video series that Rauf is on their radar for BBL|13 after taking a fast bowler in Trent Boult with their first pick in last year's draft. Boult, however, hasn't nominated for this year's draft.

Rauf holds a sensational Big Bash record with his 30 wickets at 16.40 in 18 matches for the Stars including a stunning hat-trick against the Thunder in BBL|09, helping put him on the radar of national selectors and he has since debuted in all three formats for Pakistan.

Like Rauf, it would also be Shadab's fourth BBL campaign if picked up on Sunday after previous appearances with Brisbane Heat in BBL|07 and Sydney Sixers in BBL|11 before his stint with the Hurricanes last summer was cut short by injury after seven wickets in five matches.

The 24-year-old leg-spinner and hard-hitting middle-order batter currently sits fourth in the T20I allrounder rankings and has experience in the big moments on Australia soil after smashing a 22-ball 52 and claiming 2-16 against South Africa in last year's T20 World Cup.

De Kock is another with a handy record in Australia despite no BBL experience with 856 runs at 35.66, including two centuries, in 24 matches for South Africa across the game's three formats.

The wicketkeeper-batter has become a regular on the global T20 circuit after his retirement from Test cricket at the end of 2021, dominating the inaugural Major League Cricket season for Seattle Orcas with three half-centuries in seven innings, including 87 off 52 balls in the final.

CA's general manager of Big Bash Leagues, Alistair Dobson, said the "volume and calibre of nominations" for both drafts highlighted the appeal of the BBL and WBBL for players from across the globe.

"With the uplift in Big Bash player payment pools this season, top international players are set to earn more than ever before highlighting the Big Bash League's continued commitment to fostering a world-class competition," he said.

Both the WBBL and BBL drafts will be held on Sunday, September 3, in a televised event on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, with the WBBL draft taking place from 5.30pm, ahead of the BBL draft from 7pm.

The Stars, who finished last in BBL|12, hold the first pick in this year's draft following a weighted lottery in July, while the Thunder will make the first ever selection in the WBBL draft.

The drafts for both leagues will follow the same guidelines and format as the inaugural men's event last year – there will be four rounds, with clubs able to select a minimum of two and a maximum of three players in total.

The first two rounds will go in the order of the lottery, while rounds three and four will 'snake', which means the team picking last in the second round will pick first in the third round.