Cricket News: How $1.7M worth of high-profile draft got unpicked- disastrous draft of Big Bash League

The first round of selections turned up some surprises. Out of the 12 premium players, only seven players were picked, leaving $1.7M of talent unpicked. Platinum players like Faf du Plessis, Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo were overlooked.

Gerard Whateley said, "It feels to me like had there been no draft, all of du Plessis, 'Dre Russ', Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Roy would've been here for a few games, but by imposing the draft and the $340,000 guaranteed, they cost themselves the big names that they were after.

"Because they were paying Faf to be the marketing guy … I thought, 'Oh my goodness, that shows you the failure right at the heart of it all'."

The availability of the five snubbed players was repeatedly cited as a concern even during the draft. These players were expected to leave the tournament to participate in a high-paying T20 domestic tournament between South Africa and UAE.

Consequently, Big Bash League clubs have reserved their picks for players who would be rather available for the entire summer. The clubs are unwilling to spend vast amounts on the players who would fly back before the finals.

Apart from the players overlooked, Rashid Khan's selection at Melbourne Stars was blocked by a retention pick from Adelaide Strikers, forcing the former to go with New Zealand pacer Trent Boult. Melbourne Renegades secured the services of England's number 1 all-rounder Liam Livingstone.

The Brisbane Heat chose Sam Billings after Sydney Thunder opted not to retain him and instead went for England pacer David Willey. Hobart Hurricanes walked with three Pakistani cricketers, namely Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, and Faheem Ashraf.

Getting premium players in early drafts - only the marketing tactics?

After the top premium players went unsold, having them in the draft feels like a marketing tactic to attract international players worldwide.

When the main auction started, Cricket Australia made decisions looking at the availability of selected players, leaving them with a loss of $1.7 M.

Journalist Sam Landsberger wrote, "Cricket Australia did a ton of work to get Faf du Plessis, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard to nominate for the inaugural Big Bash draft. Faf and Pollard did the pre-draft marketing for CA. All left on the shelf, along with Dwayne Bravo. Unlikely we see them in the BBL again."

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