Melbourne 22nd August : New Zealand pace bowler Trent Boult and West Indies big-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell are among the 12 stars that make up the “platinum category” of players in the first round of the inaugural Big Bash League (BBL) Draft.The 34-year-old Russell is eligible for a permanent deal with the Melbourne Stars — who are the second team to be selected in the BBL-12 Draft on 28 August because the West Indian had played five games for the club last season.
Russell who was recently reported to have said he was keen to represent his nation in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia in the near future Russell is the third-highest all-time six-hitter in T20 cricket (564) and is just second to ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle and fellow platinum-winning Kieron Pollard.
The other nominees for platinum in the BBL-12 Draft are South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, England’s Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Sam Billings, Chris Jordan and David Willey, West Indies’ Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo and Pakistan’s Shadab Khan as well as the Afghan’s Rashid Khan.
“Under the BBL Draft rules, only 12 players who are platinum can be picked in the first round whereas players who are gold or platinum can be selected in the next round” was the article in cricket.com.au.An overall of 279 players have registered their names in the draft.
Boult was recently removed from the central contract signed by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) however, even though he will be able to play for the national side, he had cited a desire to play in T20 leagues across the globe as the main reason for his opting out of the NZC contract.
Boult 33, the world’s highest-ranked ODI bowler, has not ever played in the BBL.The left-arm pacer only been a part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he has 92 wickets in eight seasons.
“But as with the majority of the draft nominated players with platinum status the two Boult as well as Russell will be only on the opening portion of BBL-12 before moving for other leagues in the first week of January.Boult has been drafted by Mumbai Indians’ owned MI Emirates team in UAE’s new International League T20 (ILT20) competition, while Russell will be playing in his Kolkata Knight Riders owned franchise Abu Dhabi Knight Riders,” the report stated.
“Close to 280 cricketers from all over the world have chosen to travel into Australia this summer to experience the most enjoyable aspects of the BBL and the summer-time lifestyle the country has to offer,” said Alistair Dobson Cricket Australia’s General Manager of Big Bash Leagues.
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