India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, World No. 1 spinner Sophie Ecclestone, West Indies pace sensation Shamar Joseph and Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf are among the big stars in the first batch of nominees revealed by the Big Bash League for the drafts. Deepti Sharma, who played a key role in London Spirit’s victory in the Women’s Hundred competition, and Jemimah Rodrigues are also amongst the star players available in the first batch of overseas players.

The Big Bash League draft for both men and women will be held on September 1 and the tournament organisers announced the initial list of overseas stars before opening the sale of tickets for all BBL matches. The Big Bash League will be played from December 15 to January 27 while the 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League will be played from October 27 to December 1.

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West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph will be one of the most sought-after players in the draft along with New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson. Notably, the teams were allowed to pre-sign players before the draft for the first time ahead of the upcoming seasons. The league organisers confirmed that close to 600 players have nominated themselves for the drafts and that itf would announce more marquee names in the coming weeks.

BBL14 Draft First Nominations

1. Laurie Evans (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Perth Scorchers)
2. Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand) – Retention eligible: No
3. Alex Hales (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Sydney Thunder)
4. Shamar Joseph (West Indies) – Retention eligible: No
5. Shadab Khan (Pakistan) – Retention eligible: No
6. Jamie Overton (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Adelaide Strikers)
7. Haris Rauf (Pakistan) – Retention eligible: Yes (Melbourne Stars)
8. Jason Roy (England) – Retention eligible: No
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan) – Retention eligible: Yes (Melbourne Renegades)
10. James Vince (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Sydney Sixers)

WBBL10 Draft First Nominations

1. Suzie Bates (New Zealand) – Retention eligible: Yes (Sydney Sixers)
2. Alice Capsey (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Melbourne Stars)
3. Sophie Ecclestone (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Sydney Sixers)
4. Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) – Retention eligible: Yes (Hobart Hurricanes)
5. Harmanpreet Kaur (India) – Retention eligible: Yes (Melbourne Renegades)
6. Heather Knight (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Sydney Thunder)
7. Jemimah Rodrigues (India) – Retention eligible: No
8. Deepti Sharma (India) – Retention eligible: No
9. Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) – Retention eligible: Yes (Adelaide Strikers)
10. Danni Wyatt (England) – Retention eligible: Yes (Perth Scorchers)

A nomination for the Draft indicates a player has not been pre-signed by any club under the new mechanism introduced this year. Despite not being pre-signed, players eligible for retention may still be selected with their previous club’s retention pick in the Drafts. These nominations follow the announcement of 12 pre-signed players across the clubs, with the remaining four to be announced soon.

Adelaide Strikers are yet to announce a pre-signed overseas player.

Pre-signed Overseas Players

• Adelaide Strikers

• Brisbane Heat

  • BBL: Colin Munro
  • WBBL: Nadine de Klerk

• Hobart Hurricanes

  • BBL: Chris Jordan
  • WBBL: TBC

• Melbourne Renegades

  • BBL: Tim Seifert
  • WBBL: Hayley Matthews

• Melbourne Stars

  • BBL: Tom Curran
  • WBBL: Marizanne Kapp

• Perth Scorchers

  • BBL: Finn Allen
  • WBBL: Sophie Devine

• Sydney Sixers

  • BBL: TBC
  • WBBL: Amelia Kerr

• Sydney Thunder

  • BBL: Sam Billings
  • WBBL: Chamari Athapaththu

HOW THE BBL AND WBBL DRAFT WORKS

Both the BBL and the WBBL Drafts consist of four rounds, with all clubs receiving one pick in each round. Clubs can select a player who has made themselves available to be drafted in one of four overseas player salary bands: Platinum (Round 1 or 2), Gold (Round 2 or 3), Silver (Round 3 or 4) or Bronze (Round 4 only).

WBBL Salary Bands

• Platinum: $110k
• Gold: $90k
• Silver: $65k
• Bronze: Up to $40k

BBL Salary Bands

• Platinum: $360k-$420k (based on availability)
• Gold: $300k
• Silver: $200k
• Bronze: Up to $100k

Clubs must select a minimum of two players via the Draft and can pass in a maximum of two rounds. Players contracted before the Draft under the new pre-signing mechanism will not appear on the nominations list. Pre-signed players must be selected by their club during the Draft with a pick that matches the salary band of their playing contract.

The order of selections for both Drafts was confirmed via the Draft Lotteries, with the third round to be conducted in reverse order.

BBL 14 Draft Order

1. Melbourne Stars
2. Melbourne Renegades
3. Sydney Thunder
4. Hobart Hurricanes
5. Adelaide Strikers
6. Brisbane Heat
7. Perth Scorchers
8. Sydney Sixers

WBBL 10 Draft Order

1. Hobart Hurricanes
2. Sydney Sixers
3. Melbourne Renegades
4. Melbourne Stars
5. Sydney Thunder
6. Adelaide Strikers
7. Brisbane Heat
8. Perth Scorchers