CRICKET
Why overseas players are playing in the Big Bash League
The Big Bash League was facing a crisis, for sure.
Threatened by similar T20 tournaments in December-January window, that are offering much higher cash, BBL was in danger of becoming a second-tier competition.
As a result, BBL decided to allow overseas players to compete in the tournament.
There are 4 categories of players.
The Platinum category is the highest paying bracket of players. Every player in this category will receive $3,40,000 for playing in the tournament.
Below this bracket is the Gold category where players will fetch a sum of $260,000.
This is followed by the Silver and Bronze categories where players receive $175,000 and $100,000, respectively.
Liam Livingstone, the hard-hitting English all-rounder, became the first pick at the inaugural overseas players draft for BBL 12.
He was chosen by Melbourne Renegades as a Platinum category player.
BBL 12 overseas draft players
Platinum: Liam Livingstone (Melbourne Renegades), Rashid Khan (Adelaide Strikers – retained), Trent Boult (Melbourne Stars), Sam Billings (Brisbane Heat), Chris Jordan (Sydney Sixers), David Willey (Sydney Thunder) and Shadab Khan (Hobart Hurricanes)
Gold: Mujeeb ur Rahman (Melbourne Renegades), Joe Clarke (Melbourne Stars), Colin Munro (Brisbane Heat), Laurie Evans (Perth Scorchers – retained), James Vince (Sydney Sixers), Colin de Grandhomme (Adelaide Strikers), Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder), Asif Ali (Hobart Hurricanes)
Silver: Faheem Ashraf (Hobart Hurricanes), Rilee Rossouw (Sydney Thunder), Phil Salt (Perth Scorchers), Adam Hose (Adelaide Strikers), Luke Wood (Melbourne Stars)
Bronze: Akeal Hosein (Melbourne Renegades), Ross Whiteley (Brisbane Heat), Izharulhaq Naveed (Sydney Sixers), Tymal Mills (Perth Scorchers)