The first overseas draft for the Big Bash League is a momentous occasion, and there is no doubt that this is something that is going to go down in the history books. All of the best players in the world wanted to get in on this industry-changing event, and as you likely already know by now, there have been more than just a few legendary players who have expressed their desire to feature in the upcoming ordeal.
However, not all of the big names in the industry managed to get a place in the overseas draft of the Big Bash League, and we are going to be going through a few of the most notable in this article.
Faf Du Plessis
It wasn’t long ago when headlines along the lines of “Plessis registers for overseas draft” were featured in almost every major news publication. This had fans incredibly excited – the prospect of having one of the best cricket players in the world take part in the Big Bash League caused fan anticipation to skyrocket.
However, as you may have already guessed, this didn’t end up coming to fruition. Despite Faf Du Plessis’s incredible skill as well as his worldwide notoriety, not one of the eight teams who compete in the Big Bash League decided they wanted him on his side.
This is incredibly surprising. I mean, what high-level team would turn down the opportunity to add a world-class player amongst their ranks? Well, it turns out that the answer to this question is quite a few of them.
Information about this ordeal is hard to come by – this is a trend that you are going to find that spans across all of the entries on this list. Most teams are not willing to directly answer why they chose not to choose a certain player out of a fear of closing doors or angering fans, and this is why it is hard to find any info about what happened to players like Faf Du Plessis.
Although, there is a common consensus among fans that the reason why most BBL teams decided not to go for players like Faf Du Plessis is because they chose to go with reliability over fame.
This is a smart decision – having players you can rely on is going to pay dividends in the long run. Nevertheless; Faf Du Plessis is undeniably one of the biggest names who were not able to make it into the Big Bash League draft, and the fact that he was excluded is one of the biggest disappointments in the League’s history.
Jason Roy
Up next, we have a player that everyone expected to see in the BBL overseas draft; Jason Roy. Jason Roy is a talented player who has played in a plethora of different leagues throughout his long career, and at a glance, his inclusion in the Big Bash League overseas draft just seemed natural.
This is a player that has ample experience playing in different teams under different circumstances – his ability to adapt is well-known. This is why it was all the more shocking when Jason did not get picked in the overseas Big Bash League.
The argument made for Faf Du Plessis makes little sense here – Jason Roy is known for his consistency/reliability, and the fact that he was excluded from the draft is somewhat of a mystery.
There is no doubt that Jason would have made an excellent addition to the league, and he would have been a boon for any team that he was put on. Either way; for one reason or another, none of the eight teams in the Big Bash League decided that Jason Roy was a good fit for them, and his exclusion was undoubtedly a detriment to the league as a whole. Here’s hoping things turn out differently next time.
Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard is yet another infamous player who has dominated cricket for seemingly forever, and his desire to play in the Big Bash League was noted by millions of fans all over the world. However, as is the pattern with everyone on this list, Kieron was not selected by any of the teams.
Pollard’s absence from the overseas draft was a huge disappointment for many – he would have been an amazing addition to the league, and it is undeniable that he would have been a huge help for whatever team he played for.
It is somewhat strange that Kieron was not selected by any of the teams. Kieron just has it all, and the previous argument for reliability/consistency just does not add up here.
Kieron Pollard’s decades of experience playing in a myriad of different teams/leagues as well as his unprecedented skill would have made him a perfect fit for playing in the first overseas draft of the Big Bash League, and the fact that he missed out on such a momentous occasion is just bad news for everyone involved.
It would be interesting to see what any of the BBL teams have to say about Kieron Pollard’s exclusion – it is likely that they are just as shocked as we are to hear that nobody chose him to be on their side.
So, were you surprised to see any of the names we featured on our list? If so, you are certainly not in the minority. Just about every Big Bash League fan everywhere expected Plessis, Jason, and Kieron to feature in the overseas draft, and we have no doubt that this news was rather disappointing to fans everywhere.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that they are going to be exempt from the next overseas draft. On the contrary; the chances that we are going to see the aforementioned players feature in the next overseas draft are incredibly high, and next year is likely going to bring with it its own share of legendary cricketers who didn’t make the cut. See you then.
