KFC BBL|13 draft: Six of T20 Big-hitters open up BBL draft nominations

KFC BBL|13 draft: With the draft little more than three weeks away, the first batch of nominations have been revealed

Six of T20 cricket’s biggest hitters, all with Big Bash experience, are the first players to nominate for the KFC BBL|13 draft.

Three players ranked among the ICC’s top 15 T20I :-

The group includes three players ranked among the ICC’s top 15 T20I batters and marks the first release of talent to nominate ahead of the September 3 draft.

It follows the announcement last week that five international captains were the first public nominations for the Weber WBBL|09 draft.

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Nominations for the KFC BBL|13 Draft :-

• Faf du Plessis
• Laurie Evans
• Alex Hales
• Colin Munro
• Nicholas Pooran
• Rilee Rossouw

The availability the nominated players have set has not been revealed, but few of them are likely to be available for the entire season given the glut of international cricket and rival domestic T20 leagues over the BBL window.

Nicholas Pooran nominated for a return after a two-season absence :-

Nicholas Pooran, who this week became the West Indies’ second all-time T20 international run scorer after thrashing 67 off 40 balls against India, has nominated for a return after a two-season absence, having last played for the Melbourne Stars in BBL|10.

The Stars do not have retention rights to Pooran but do have first pick in the BBL|13 draft, and the wicketkeeper-batter would be a good fit, although the club did trade to bring in Sam Harper in a deal that sent Adam Zampa to the Melbourne Renegades.

KFC BBL|13 draft: Hales, with a BBL career strike-rate topping 150 :-

Hales, with a BBL career strike-rate topping 150, was drafted by the Sydney Thunder in the second round last season for $260,000 – a similar position this year would net him $300,000 after an increase to salary bands.

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Thunder drafted South African big-hitter Rilee Rossouw :-

The Thunder also drafted South African big-hitter Rilee Rossouw last summer, picking him up in the third round, and the 33-year-old, currently ranked fifth on the ICC’s T20I batting rankings, has nominated again.

Rossouw comes with a big reputation but has not had the greatest success in the Big Bash. He had a disappointing BBL|10 with the Renegades, but rediscovered his form after that tournament in other domestic leagues, leading to an international recall with South Africa and his charge back up the batting rankings.

Faf du Plessis returns for a second attempt :-

Faf du Plessis returns for a second attempt at being drafted – the South Africa icon was one of the highest profile nominations for the inaugural draft but was among a host of big names snubbed on draft night as clubs favoured availability of over reputation.

The final batter to nominate is New Zealand’s Colin Munro :-

The final batter to nominate is New Zealand’s T20 circuit regular Colin Munro, who played last season with the Brisbane Heat.

Scorchers fans were upset that the club didn’t use their retention pick to keep Munro when the Heat selected him at pick 11 last year after – Munro is the club’s most capped international import after playing 29 games across two seasons between 2020-22.

KFC BBL|13 Draft salary bands :-

Platinum: $420,000
Gold: $300,000
Silver: $200,000
Bronze: $100,0