Six Pakistan players chosen in BBL draft, Afridi picked no. 1

MELBOURNE: Pakistani fast-bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was chosen number one overall in Thursday’s Big Bash League (BBL) draft, with seven Pakistani players been chosen in total.

It was the Brisbane Heat who added Afridi to their ranks, further strengthening their bowling attack which already includes Spencer Johnson, Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett. Haris Rauf was taken second overall by the Adelaide Strikers. However, the Melbourne Stars used their retention pick to keep the fast-bowler who has taken 36 wickets across the 22 innings he’s bowled for the franchise.

Mohammad Rizwan was chosen fourth overall by Melbourne’s other team, the Renegades, becoming the second wicketkeeper batter the side has along with Tim Seifert.

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Shadab Khan was chosen 12th by the Sydney Thunder, marking the fourth BBL club the Pakistani allrounder will join, as he played previously for the Heat, the Sydney Sixers, and the Hobart Hurricanes.

The Renegades retained Hassan Khan in the second round, while the Adelaide Strikers used their third-round pick to choose Hasan Ali.

Earlier, Babar Azam was pre-signed by the Sydney Sixers as an international recruit. While Babar will be making his BBL debut later this season, he brings a plethora of experience from other leagues including the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), England’s Vitality Blast, the Lanka Premier League (LPL), and of course, the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

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