Babar, Rizwan among big names in BBL player draft

Melbourne: Top Pakistan Twenty20 cricketers, including their skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and tall pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, are set to join the Big Bash League (BBL) inaugural draft for international players, a report in the Daily Telegraph has said. The BBL player draft is becoming high-profile with the likes of Afghanistan's charismatic spinner Rashid Khan, West Indies stalwarts Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, and South Africa's Faf du Plessis already headlining the batch of stars nominated for the inaugural international draft. Now reports say that Azam and Rizwan, the two highest-ranked T20I players, are set to grace the league.

Struggling side Melbourne Renegades have clinched the coveted first pick in the BBL's inaugural overseas player draft after being drawn first in a lottery conducted by Cricket Australia on Wednesday.

While there are more than 170 nominations for the BBL draft, Cricket Australia (CA) has only made 28 names public, according to sen.com.au.

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