Pakistan's T20I captain Salman Ali Agha is among the 74 Pakistani male cricketers who have signed up for the Big Bash League (BBL) 15 Draft, as announced by Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday.
The draft, scheduled for June 19, will also include 11 Pakistani women cricketers competing for spots in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), showcasing a growing interest and presence of Pakistani talent in Australia's premier T20 competitions.
Joining Salman in the men's draft are explosive opener Mohammad Haris and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, both of whom have impressed with their recent performances at the domestic and international levels.
These names add to an already star-studded list of Pakistani players previously registered for the BBL 15 Draft, including pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, leg-spinner Shadab Khan, fast bowler Haris Rauf, spinner Usama Mir and pacer Mohammad Hasnain.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam has already been secured by the Sydney Sixers as one of the 15 pre-signed marquee players for the upcoming season across both the men's and women's competitions.
The BBL 15 draft will feature over 600 overseas players, making it one of the most competitive drafts in recent years.
The men's draft includes players from England (178), the West Indies (42), Sri Lanka (13), and even one from India. The women's draft pool is headlined by players from England (46), India (15), New Zealand (15) and Pakistan (11).
For the unversed, Brisbane Heat will have the first pick in the men's draft, giving them the opportunity to lead selections from this elite pool of global talent.
Mega-money Babar
Former Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has joined the list of the highest-paid players in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) after signing with the Sydney Sixers for a fee higher than the Platinum category base price.
This will be Babar's first appearance in the BBL and the Sixers have secured his services for the upcoming season. Details of the agreement between Babar and the franchise have also emerged.
According to reports, the Sixers picked Babar in the Platinum category and offered him a pre-signing deal with a salary exceeding the base price.
The base price for Platinum category players is around PKR 7.75 crore, but sources claim Babar's deal is worth nearly PKR 10 crore, making him one of the highest-paid signings in BBL.
With over 10,000 international runs across formats, the 30-year-old has firmly established himself as one of the game's most prolific and consistent performers.
As per BBL regulations, each team is permitted to pre-sign one overseas player ahead of the official BBL 15 draft, scheduled for Thursday, June 19.
List of Pakistan players
Asif Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Muhammad Akhlaq, Ammad Butt, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Ali, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Umar Amin, Ali Asfand, Azan Awais, Saim Ayub, Danish Aziz, Tahir Baig, Ahmed Daniyal, Sahibzada Farhan, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Huzaifa, Muhammad Imran Jr, Aamer Jamal, Azam Khan, Haseebullah Khan, Ihsanullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Mubasir Khan, Sajid Khan, Shadab Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Usman Khan, Yasir Khan, Zaman Khan, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mehmood, Arafat Minhas, Usama Mir, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, Khawaja Nafay, Hasan Nawaz, Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Momin Qamar, Haris Rauf, Ali Raza, Mohammad Rizwan, Abdul Samad, Ali Shafiq, Abdullah Shafique, Hunain Shah, Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Shahzad, Saud Shakeel, Hussain Talat, Usman Tariq, Siraj Uddin, Imam-ul-Haq, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Muhammad Wasim, Arif Yaqoob, Zeeshan Zameer, Muhammad Zeeshan.
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