North India Statesman
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Melbourne, August 19 (HS). Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, England's Sophie Ecclestone and Heather Knight are among the cricketers who have been included in the first batch of players nominated for the overseas draft of the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
The league on Monday confirmed the first 10 male and female players for this year's overseas draft. Ecclestone, the world's top-ranked ODI and T20I bowler, will be one of the most sought-after players although she could be retained by her franchise Sydney Sixers, but according to cricket.com.au, having secured the services of New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr during pre-draft signings and having the Australian trio of Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner, the Sixers may struggle to fit Ecclestone into their salary slot at the first-round platinum price.
Shabnam Ismail (Hobart Hurricanes), Danni Wyatt (Perth Scorchers), Laura Wolvaardt (Adelaide Strikers), Alice Capsey (Melbourne Stars), Heather Knight (Sydney Thunder), Harmanpreet Kaur (Melbourne Renegades) and Suzie Bates (Sydney Sixers) are also eligible to be retained by the teams they have signed contracts with. Nominations for the draft are now closed, with over 500 male and female players having submitted their names.
Twelve cricket superstars have already confirmed their club commitments for Women's Big Bash League Season 10 and Big Bash League Season 14 through new multi-year, pre-draft contracts.
During the draft, players who have made themselves available for the draft may be selected by a club in one of their four foreign player salary bands, as follows: platinum (round 1 or 2), gold (round 2 or 3), silver (round 3 or 4) or bronze (round 4 only).
Teams are required to select at least two players through the draft in addition to those already signed.
The 10th edition of the Women's BBL will begin a week after the T20 World Cup final, which will take place on October 20, and will conclude just four days before the first ODI against India in Brisbane, which will take place on December 5.
The schedule will be quite busy for Australian players. Some other international series after the World Cup, such as India vs New Zealand and South Africa vs England, may force players from these countries out of the BBL due to national commitments.
