Livingstone, Rashid, Boult top picks as 24 overseas players selected in inaugural BBL draft

Melbourne, Aug 28 (IANS) Liam Livingstone, Rashid Khan and Trent Boult headline a list of 24 overseas players selected through the inaugural Big Bash League (BBL) draft ahead of the league's 12th season.The competition's first Draft for overseas players saw Clubs consider 332 players from 20 countries for the coveted positions in their squads for the season. Seven clubs selected Platinum players in round one, with Livingstone, the hard-hitting England batting all-rounder, named the competition's inaugural number one Draft selection by the Melbourne Renegades.Melbourne Stars attempted to pluck Rashid from under the noses of Adelaide Strikers with pick two before the Afghanistan leg-spin all-rounder was retained for a sixth straight season by the people in the blue jersey.Boult, the New Zealand left-arm pacer, then became pick three for the Stars, before the English trio of Sam Billings (Brisbane Heat), Chris Jordan (Sydney Sixers), David Willey (Sydney Thunder) and Pakistan's leg-spin all-rounder Shadab Khan (Hobart Hurricanes) were also taken in the opening round. Perth Scorchers passed on their round-one selection.Big names like Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, and Jason Roy - who were touted to be huge picks in the inaugural BBL draft - were surprisingly not picked by any of the eight franchises.Subsequent rounds saw each of England's Joe Clarke (Stars), Alex Hales (Thunder), Tymal Mills (Scorchers) and James Vince (Sixers) selected by their BBL|11 Clubs, while Laurie Evans returned to the Scorchers via a retention pick.Big Bash favourites, New Zealand's opening batter Colin Munro (Heat), England's Phil Salt (Scorchers) and Afghanistan's mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Renegades) will each have new homes for the upcoming campaign.Exciting newcomers like Pakistan's Asif Ali (Hurricanes), Colin de Grandhomme (Strikers) and Adam Hose (Strikers) will each have their first taste of the BBL in the upcoming Australian summer.Other overseas picks include Pakistan's pace all-rounder Faheem Ashraf (Hurricanes), South Africa's big-hitting batter Rilee Rossouw (Thunder), West Indies left-arm spin all-rounder Akeal Hossein (Renegades) and England's left-arm pacer Tymal Mills (Scorchers)."The inaugural BBL Draft was a resounding success and the perfect way to begin the countdown to the summer of Big Bash. The League is delighted to welcome a host of the world's biggest names to the competition, complemented by the next group up and comers.""We'd like to congratulate all Clubs on their recruitment and look forward to seeing the players put on a show for all fans at the game. Our thanks also go to Fox Cricket, plus players and agents from around the world, for their support of the draft concept," said Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's General Manager, Big Bash Leagues.The contracting period for replacement overseas players commences on Monday. Clubs may contract a maximum of seven overseas players for BBL season 12, split as either three primary (via Draft night) and four replacements, or two primary and five replacements.Full list of players selected in the BBL 12 Overseas Draft:Round One1. Melbourne Renegades: Liam Livingstone2. Adelaide Strikers: Rashid Khan (Retention)3. Melbourne Stars: Trent Boult4. Brisbane Heat: Sam Billings5. Sydney Sixers: Chris Jordan6. Perth Scorchers: Pass7. Sydney Thunder: David Willey8. Hobart Hurricanes: Shadab Khan
Round Two9. Melbourne Renegades: Mujeeb Ur Rahman10. Melbourne Stars: Joe Clarke11. Brisbane Heat: Colin Munro12. Perth Scorchers: Laurie Evans (Retention)13. Sydney Sixers: James Vince14. Adelaide Strikers: Colin de Grandhomme15. Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales16. Hobart Hurricanes: Asif Ali
Round Three17. Hobart Hurricanes: Faheem Ashraf18. Sydney Thunder: Rilee Rossouw19. Perth Scorchers: Phil Salt20. Adelaide Strikers: Adam Hose21. Sydney Sixers: Pass22. Brisbane Heat: Pass23. Melbourne Stars: Luke Wood24. Melbourne Renegades: Pass
Round Four25. Melbourne Renegades: Akeal Hossein26. Melbourne Stars: Pass27. Brisbane Heat: Ross Whiteley28. Sydney Sixers: Izharulhuq Naveed29. Adelaide Strikers: Pass30. Perth Scorchers: Tymal Mills31. Sydney Thunder: Pass32. Hobart Hurricanes: Pass
--IANSnr/bsk

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