68 Pakistani cricketers enter BBL 2024 overseas draft

68 Pakistani cricketers have entered the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024 men’s overseas draft, featuring a mix of seasoned international stars and emerging talents eager to make their mark on the global stage.

Notable Pakistani players in the draft include Test captain Shan Masood, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, pace sensation Haris Rauf, experienced opener Fakhar Zaman, and rising spinner Abrar Ahmed.

In addition to the new entries, four Pakistani players have been retained by their respective BBL teams for the upcoming season. Haris Rauf, Imad Wasim, and Usama Mir will continue with the Melbourne Stars, while Zaman Khan has been retained by the Sydney Thunder.

Cricket Australia (CA) has announced that a total of 593 cricketers have registered for the BBL 2024 drafts, covering both the men’s and women’s competitions. This diverse pool includes 432 men and 161 women from 30 countries, such as Hong Kong, Uganda, Japan, Greece, Indonesia, and Romania.

The BBL 2024 draft is scheduled for September 1, where the eight participating teams—Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes, Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Perth Scorchers, and Sydney Sixers—will select their overseas players for the 2024-25 season.

Each team is allowed to pick up to four players, subject to salary cap limits, with one spot reserved for an overseas replacement player. However, only three international players can be included in a team’s primary roster of 18 at any given time during the tournament.

Full list of Pakistani players in the BBL 2024 overseas draft:

Aamer Jamal

Abdullah Shafique

Abrar Ahmed

Ahmed Danyal

Ahsan Bhatti

Ali Asfand

Ali Raza

Ali Shafiq

Arafat Minhas

Asif Ali

Azan Awais

Danish Aziz

Faheem Ashraf

Faisal Akram

Fakhar Zaman

Haris Rauf (retained by Melbourne Stars)

Haris Sohail

Haider Ali

Haseebullah Khan

Hunain Shah

Hussain Talat

Ihsan Ullah

Imad Wasim (retained by Melbourne Stars)

Imam-ul-Haq

Irfan Khan Niazi

Jahandad Khan

Jalat Khan

Khurram Shahzad

Khushdil Shah

Kamran Ghulam

Mehran Mumtaz

Mirza Tahir Baig

Mohammad Haris

Mohammad Nawaz

Muhammad Akhlaq

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Hasnain

Muhammad Imran Jnr

Muhammad Salman Mirza

Muhammad Shehzad

Muhammad Zeeshan

Noman Ali

Naseem Shah

Rumman Raees

Sahibzada Farhan

Saim Ayub

Salman Irshad

Sarfaraz Ahmed

Shadab Khan

Shahnawaz Dahani

Shahzaib Khan

Shan Masood

Siraj Uddin

Sufiyan Muqeem

Tahir Baig

Tahir Hussain

Tayyab Abbas

Umar Akmal

Umar Amin

Usama Mir (retained by Melbourne Stars)

Usman Khan

Usman Qadir

Usman Tariq

Waseem Junior

Zafar Gohar

Zahid Mahmood

Zaman Khan (retained by Sydney Thunder)

Zeeshan Zameer

This year’s BBL draft promises to be an exciting event, with a strong representation of Pakistani talent poised to make a significant impact in one of the world’s most popular T20 leagues.