WBBL and BBL Champions. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)
Another highly-anticipated season of the Big Bash League (BBL) and Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is fast approaching and teams have begun assessing the new players they may add to their setup to achieve success.
As many as 50 players have been kept in the platinum bracket across the BBL and WBBL. Some of the biggest names are Nicholas Pooran, Haris Rauf, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, among others. On the WBBL front, there are star players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Marizanne Kapp, and Alice Capsey, among others.
14 players in the BBL platinum list are from England, the most from any country. The franchises will be keen to sign these players as the national team has been producing surreal results across the three formats in international cricket.
However, their availability for the whole part of the tournament is uncertain as England have a white-ball series against the West Indies in December and a five-match Test series against India, beginning in January. Therefore, the likes of Brook and Crawley might miss out on a substantial part of the BBL. The season will run from December 7 to January 24.
The BBL salary bands have seen a substantial increase from the previous edition. This time, the platinum players will earn AUD 420,000 (up from $340,000 last year). However, the full amount will only be paid if the player makes himself available for the entirety of the season. Playing only 10 matches will earn them AUD 400,000 while playing nine matches will make them AUD 380,000. Any cricketer who plays eight or fewer matches will be paid AUD 360,000 irrespective of the number of games they play. Gold players will earn AUD 300,000, silver AUD 200,000, and bronze AUD 100,000.
With the SA20 is beginning on January 10, a few players might leave for that tournament in the closing stages of BBL. Pakistan also have a couple of assignments that clash with BBL.
This will be the first time overseas players will be picked on the basis of a draft in the WBBL. Platinum players will earn AUD 110,000, gold will earn AUD 90,000, silver AUD 65,000, and bronze AUD 40,000. If a player chooses the direct nomination way, she can only earn up to 95% of the silver category. The WBBL will run from October 19 to December 2.
As per ESPNcricinfo:
BBL platinum players (Possible retention clubs marked)
Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings (Heat), Harry Brook, Joe Clarke (Stars), Zak Crawley, Tom Curran (Sixers), Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis (Scorchers), Martin Guptill (Renegades), Alex Hales (Thunder), Will Jacks, Chris Jordan (Sixers), Rashid Khan (Strikers), Shadab Khan (Hurricanes), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills (Scorchers), Colin Munro (Heat), Nicholas Pooran, Haris Rauf (Stars), Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw (Thunder), Phil Salt (Scorchers), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Heat), James Vince (Sixers)