Deepti Sharma and Rashid Khan in the Spotlight for WBBL and BBL Overseas Drafts

Deepti Sharma and Rashid Khan Named Final Nominees for WBBL and BBL Overseas Drafts

Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma and Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan are in the running as final nominations for the WBBL and BBL overseas drafts. The drafts are set to take place on September 3.

Deepti, who previously played for UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), joins the list of nominees for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft. This draft has attracted interest from 122 players across 19 countries. Although Deepti played for Sydney Thunder in the 2021-22 WBBL season, she is not eligible for retention.

Other Indian players included in the WBBL draft are Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Meghana Sabbineni, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Radha Yadav.

Harmanpreet and Jemimah are eligible for retention by their respective clubs Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars. After being a Platinum pick for Adelaide Strikers in BBL12, Rashid Khan has put his name forward again this year. With 556 T20 wickets, Rashid is part of the draft with 376 cricketers.

The players selected in the Platinum category for each draft will be revealed on August 30. Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s General Manager of Big Bash Leagues, expressed excitement about the drafts, highlighting the global appeal of the Big Bash League and the increased earnings for top international players.

The drafts will consist of four rounds, with clubs allowed to select a minimum of two and a maximum of three players in total. Each BBL squad will have 18 players, including two or three overseas players from the draft. Similarly, each WBBL squad will have 15 players, with at least two overseas players from the draft and an option for a third via a direct nomination.

The draft will have four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, with competitive salaries for each category. Players can also choose to be directly contracted by a WBBL team after the draft, affecting their availability during the draft.

Players meeting specific criteria will be eligible retention players. These criteria include being part of a Big Bash team squad for at least two seasons, being in the previous season’s squad, being in the previous season’s squad but not in the starting 13, or being approved by the Big Bash Technical Committee due to exceptional circumstances.