BBL 2022-23: Ross Taylor, Mohammad Hasnain, Will Smeed listed in latest draft

The latest group of players announced for the BBL drafts on Sunday includes Ross Taylor, Mohammad Hasnain, and Will Smeed, bringing the total number of players listed to 332. The Men’s Big Bash League is set to begin in December 2022 and will go on till 2023 February first week, when the final is scheduled to be played.

Hasnain is one of two cricketers in the final group, who were added late before last Sunday’s nominations deadline. Hasnain is qualified for retention because he represented Sydney Thunder the previous season. The Sydney Thunder made it till the knockout but couldn’t succeed further having lost to Adelaide Strikers.

Fakhar Zaman, who represented the Brisbane Heat for just one game in the previous edition, is the other player in the final group. During the competition last year, Hasnain’s bowling technique was questioned and reported, but he has now been given the clearance to start bowling again.

Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq, two Test opening batsmen, as well as white-ball batter Khushdil Shah, are among the Pakistani names that constitute the majority of the new names in the draft. Taylor, who announced his international retirement earlier this year, would be a good choice if a team is searching for a seasoned batter because he does not currently have any competing contracts.

Smeed is a highly regarded young English batter who has played in 52 T20 matches and has a brilliant strike rate of 146.23. Most recently, he became the first player to score a ton in the ongoing men’s The Hundred. He has already drawn attention on a global scale and will sign an ILT20 contract with the MI Emirates in January 2023.

Players in the BBL draft to be divided into four categories

28 of the 332 players queued up for the draft are eligible for re-signing with the teams they previously played for. The first 12 players on the list, which was released on Monday, are in the platinum category, with the other players ranging into the gold, silver, and bronze categories. The draft will allow for the signing of up to 24 players, with each team required to select no less than two names or a maximum of three.