Photo Credit: Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars are excited by Cricket Australia’s announcement of a BBL draft for international players for BBL|12.
The Draft, to be held in coming months, will give all eight Clubs the opportunity to recruit up to three primary overseas players for their KFC BBL|12 lists.
The Stars have always had strong overseas representation from Kevin Pietersen, Lasith Malinga and Luke Wright in the formative years of the Stars to current day T20 superstars, Andre Russell and Haris Rauf.
Watch a full explanation of the BBL Draft from Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch.
https://players.brightcove.net/948002578001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6308292375112
“We’re excited by the Draft and welcome any excitement and anticipation it will bring fans well before BBL|12 kicks off,” Crouch said.
“Our coaching group led by David Hussey is already thinking long and hard about who to bring into the Stars. We look forward to sharing more updates with our members and fans as they come to light.”
Additionally, the BBL|12 contracting embargo has now been lifted, meaning clubs are able to enter binding discussions with Australian players.
HOW IT WORKS
The KFC BBL|12 Draft is the primary way for Clubs to recruit their overseas players for the upcoming season.
Player nominations & categories
Players from around the world are now able to nominate for the KFC BBL|12 Draft via an online nomination portal, including their availability for part or all of the tournament.
There will be four categories in which players can be selected on Draft night: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Salaries for each category have been set at globally competitive rates, with Platinum the highest player payment.
The League is engaging in active conversations with players and agents worldwide and will announce further player nominations over the coming weeks.
Draft order
The Draft order will be decided via a weighted lottery.
The three teams to miss the Finals in KFC BBL|11 will be entered in the first weighted lottery to determine selections one, two and three.
The five finalists from last season will then be drawn for selections four to eight.
Draft rounds
The Draft will consist of four rounds with one pick per Club in each.
Clubs may elect to pass in certain rounds, but each Club must pick a minimum of two and maximum of three players by the completion of round four.
Round one is for Platinum players only and will follow the draft order drawn via the above method. Round two will follow the same order as round one, after which rounds three and four will follow a snaking order.
Retention Picks
Each club is entitled to one Retention Pick to be used in any round of the Draft.
A player is eligible for retention if they have played a match for that Club the previous season.
Total players & replacements
Each Club’s BBL squad will comprise of 18 players, including two or three overseas players from the Draft and the remainder being domestic players.
After the Draft, Clubs will be able to contract up to four replacement overseas players. A player must have nominated for the Draft to be an eligible replacement overseas player.
