The draft of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024/25 season for overseas players took place on September 1, Sunday, where the eight Australian franchises added some big players to their squad ahead of the upcoming season.
Regarding players from Pakistan, a total of 69 players had enrolled for the auction in both the Men's and Women's BBL drafts, however, only a single player was picked.
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List of Pakistan players selected in BBL 2024-25 draft
Among the many Pakistan star players who had nominated their names for the BBL 2024/25 draft, only Usama Mir was picked, by the Melbourne Stars.
| Player drafted | BBL franchise |
|---|---|
| Usama Mir | Melbourne Stars |
Some of the players who missed out on being drafted include Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Zaman Khan, Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali and Mohammad Hasnain.
Mir had represented Melbourne Stars in the last BBL season, where he picked up five wickets in five games.
The Big Bash League (BBL) is scheduled to begin on December 15, with the final of the tournament scheduled to be played on January 27, 2025.
MORE: List of Indian players picked for WBBL 2024-25
Why was Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Babar Azam unsold or not considered at the BBL 2024/24 draft?
While there has not been any official statement from either the franchise or the players yet, it is likely that the reason for a majority of the Pakistan players not being considered at the draft is simply due to doubts of their participation.
Following the team's poor performance and early exit at the T20 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had stated that their all-format players will not be granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to take part in overseas leagues.
MORE: Will all Pakistan players be prevented from playing in foreign T20 leagues?
Moreover, the Pakistan players will be involved in international duties with a 3-match ODI and 2-match Test series against South Africa during the months of December and January, which creates a conflict of interest with the BBL schedule.
Additionally, the PCB would prefer that the Pakistan players give preference and focus on the ICC Champions Trophy in February 2025.
Therefore, the BBL franchise likely chose not to take the risk of picking doubtful players and instead opted to go with players who were guaranteed to be available throughout the tournament.