Quinton de Kock is set to make his debut in the BBL this season after being selected by Melbourne Renegades in the overseas draft while Melbourne Stars took England star Harry Brook but not before trying to poach Rashid Khan from Adelaide Strikers for the second year running.
The second edition of the BBL's overseas draft was a lot more tactical as clubs tried to fill their needs while also prising out some regulars from other clubs.
Ashes stars Brook and Zak Crawley will both return to the BBL but neither with their previous club Hobart Hurricanes, with Crawley heading to Perth Scorchers. But both are likely to be unavailable for the latter stages of the tournament due to England's Test tour of India, while there is also a white-ball tour of West Indies in December.
Renegades were able to snare de Kock at pick four having gone in without a wicketkeeper on their list. He is listed to be available from December 10 to January 5 which would make it seven of Renegades' first eight games. But that is only the case if de Kock does not play in either of South Africa's scheduled T20I and ODI series against India which run from December 10 to December 21. Renegades also picked Mujeeb Ur Rahman to get him back for a second year running.
Stars selected Rashid with their first pick, this time the first of the draft, for the second year running but Strikers were having none of it, immediately activating their retention to keep the star legspinner in Adelaide. Strikers also took men's Hundred player of the tournament Jamie Overton in one of the biggest coups of the night and he is likely to be fully available for the 10 home and away matches to add a quality allrounder that they were missing.
After missing out on Rashid, Stars took Brook despite a clear need to find a high-class spinner having gone into the draft without even a domestic spinner on their list after Adam Zampa was traded to Renegades. But they made up for it later in the draft. They picked Stars favourite Haris Rauf with pick nine but added fellow Pakistan legspinner Usama Mir their last selection having thought the tall legspinner might be taken earlier in the draft.
Brook wasn't the only England Ashes star to get picked. Crawley could have been retained by Hurricanes at any stage in the first two rounds but he slipped all the way to pick 16 which forced Scorchers to make a late decision to take him having not expected him to slip that far. Head coach Adam Voges noted Crawley had the attributes to succeed on bouncy surfaces at Perth Stadium.
Hurricanes looked elsewhere with their tactics as they needed a bowling allrounder. Sydney Sixers had the retention rights to both Tom Curran and Chris Jordan but could only take one of them. Hurricanes took Curran with pick three and Sixers retained him immediately. Hurricanes then took Jordan. They also picked middle-order batter Sam Hain who was not retained by Heat. Hurricanes later added another allrounder in Corey Anderson.
Heat instead chose Sam Billings to ensure they got both of last year's high-profile overseas batters back into their line-up, having earlier got Colin Munro, to cover the absences of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne due to international duty. Munro and Billings are both ILT20 players and should be available until deep into the tournament. Heat also added English allrounder Paul Walter who they believe will be an asset at the Gabba.
Sixers had a nervous wait until pick 14 to see if James Vince would be taken by another club having used their retention pick on Curran but Vince got through. They later added young England legspinner Rehan Ahmed in the last round.
Sydney Thunder made a predictable selection in the first round calling out Alex Hales. They produced a surprise later, selecting Pakistan quick Zaman Khan. They also only took two overseas like Renegades and Scorchers, with the option to sign another post the draft. Scorchers took Laurie Evans with pick 17.
How the draft played out
Melbourne Stars Harry Brook, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir
Adelaide Strikers Rashid Khan (retained), Jamie Overton, Adam Hose
Hobart Hurricanes Chris Jordan, Sam Hain, Corey Anderson
Melbourne Renegades Quinton de Kock, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Sydney Thunder Alex Hales, Zaman Khan
Sydney Sixers Tom Curran (retained), James Vince, Rehan Ahmed
Brisbane Heat Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Paul Walter
Perth Scorchers Zak Crawley, Laurie Evans