MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia (CA) has announced the introduction of a draft system for the upcoming Big Bash League, permitting the franchises to select up to three overseas players.

The BBL confirmed the introduction of a four-tier draft structure after facing two years delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic in order to attract T20’s megastars to Australia for the 2022-23 edition.

CA has stated that the draft will take place in the coming months while the nominations have opened worldwide, promising global competitive rates for the nominated players.

Explaining the working of the newly introduced draft system, BBL announced via its official Twitter handle that players will nominate themselves online for either part or the entire tournament. They can nominate for three salary categories: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The BBL will then elevate the biggest names to Platinum status.

Clubs will choose players in an order decided via a weighted lottery. The first weighted lottery to determine selections one, two, and three will include the three clubs that did not advance to the KFC BBL|11 Finals. The five finalists from the previous season will then be chosen for choices four through eight.

There will be four rounds in the draft, with one pick for each Club, which are permitted to skip some rounds, but by the end of round four, each club must choose a minimum of two and a maximum of three participants.

Each team is allowed one Retention Pick, which can be used in any round of the Draft. If a player has been part of the Club the previous season, they are eligible for retention.

Each Club’s BBL squad will consist of 18 players, with two or three overseas players selected from the Draft while the rest must be domestic players. Clubs will be able to sign up to five replacement overseas players after the conclusion of the Draft. To be an eligible replacement overseas, a player must have been nominated for the Draft, unless approved by the League.

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