All-rounder Sam Curran will make his debut in the Big Bash League this winter after he was signed by the Sydney Sixers as their first pick in Thursday’s overseas player draft.
Surrey’s T20 captain, who was awarded Player of the Tournament when England won the World T20 in Australia three years ago, will be hoping a strong showing for the three-time winners will help force his way back into the England squad ahead of the 2026 edition in February, having yet to be selected under Brendon McCullum.
Meanwhile, James Anderson’s hopes of playing franchise cricket following international retirement took another hit as England’s leading wicket-taker went unselected, despite the 43-year-old’s impressive return to the short format with 10 wickets in four T20 Blast matches for Lancashire.
Another notable omission from the influx of English draft nominees was Jofra Archer, who did not attract any suitors at full availability, though it is anticipated the pace bowler will instead be involved in the Ashes series which coincides with the majority of the tournament.
English Picks
Elsewhere, left-arm quick Luke Wood was the third overall pick and will turn out for Adelaide Strikers in his first BBL campaign since 2022-23, following an impressive run of form at the PSL and during England’s recent T20 series against West Indies.
Defending champions Hobart Hurricanes have offered Rehan Ahmed his maiden Big Bash opportunity, with the talented all-rounder eager to impress the England selectors after falling down the pecking order with the recall of Will Jacks and Liam Dawson.
After a season at Melbourne Renegades, fan favourite Laurie Evans returns to Perth Scorchers where he won the title in 2021-22, including a match-winning knock in the final, and will be joined by experienced left-arm seamer David Payne in Western Australia.
Exciting prospect Jafer Chohan and top order batter Tom Alsop were re-signed by Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat respectively, as was Joe Clarke who will link up again with his Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores at Melbourne Stars.
Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan and Jamie Overton were all pre-signed ahead of the draft to stay with Sydney Thunder, Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes and Adelaide Strikers respectively to take the number of English participants to 12.
Omissions
Liam Livingstone and Alex Hales were among the big names to miss out, unable to commit to the entire campaign, whilst Sixers stalwart James Vince will also not be lining up for the men in magenta after seven successive seasons.
Pakistan players were in strong demand for guaranteed availability throughout the competition in what is always a hectic time in the global calendar, with Babar Azam a headline announcement as a Sydney Sixers player ahead of the draft to fill the void left by Vince.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the number one pick in the draft by Brisbane Heat, and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan was quickly snapped up by Melbourne Renegades; both will be experiencing Big Bash cricket for the very first time.
By Dom Harris
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