Draft: league is ready for lift-off
TWO ROOKIES PER SQUAD IN BID FOR NEW TALENT
How it works
The franchises will pick in an order decided by a weighted matrix that has been predetermined by lot. This allows the teams to plan ahead.
Each team will have 16 picks in total
Each team will be given a maximum of two minutes to exercise its pick for each round
Teams will be allowed planning breaks after every four rounds
Each of the 16 rounds has a specific player salary value for all eight picks in that round
No team will be allowed to skip a round of picks and must draft a player in each round
No prior negotiating or trading of picks is permitted
Composition of squads
Eight marquee Proteas have already been allocated, one to each franchise.
Eight international marquee players will be drafted tonight.
Each 18-man squad is allowed five foreign players, which includes South African Kolpak players.
Each squad must contain at least two rookies – defined as being 23 or younger and not having played international cricket.
Marquee Proteas
Faf du Plessis (Stellenbosch), AB de Villiers (Pretoria), Quinton de Kock (Benoni), Hashim Amla (Durban), Kagiso Rabada (Johannesburg), JP Duminy (Cape Town), David Miller (Bloemfontein), Imran Tahir (Port Elizabeth).
International marquee players
Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Kieron Pollard, Jason Roy.
Kolpak players in draft
Cameron Delport, Richard Levi, Colin Ingram, Colin Ackermann, Simon Harmer, Brendan Taylor, Marchant de Lange, Hardus Viljoen, David Wiese, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.
Preparations for the new T20 Global League will progress to the crucial stage of the eight franchises settling on their squads as the player draft is held in Cape Town tomorrow.
With each franchise having already been allocated a marquee Proteas player, the eight international marquee stars will be given their franchises in what Cricket South Africa has described as a “mini-draft” tonight.
The attention will then shift tomorrow to who the other 128 players taking part in the inaugural tournament will be as each franchise gets to choose their other 16 players. Five of those can be overseas picks, with the 10 South African Kolpak players counting towards that figure. Each 18-man squad must include two rookies, which CSA hope will help the development of young talent.
There will be 16 rounds of the draft, with each having a specific salary band. The Durban Qalandars were chosen by lot to make the first pick in Round One, but every franchise will have first choice in at least two of the rounds.
The big-money signings will go first and expect players like Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Carlos Brathwaite, Junaid Khan, Yasir Shah, Rassie van der Dussen, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Morne Morkel and Keshav Maharaj to attract plenty of interest.
There is some great talent available among the rookies as well, and the likes of Kyle Simmonds, Janneman Malan, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Ruben Claassen, Dayyaan Galiem, Aiden Markram and Solo Nqweni could all offer excellent value for money.
Thirty-four players who have played for the Proteas in the recent past and are not marquee players, are also in the draft and are sure to be snapped up in the early stages of bidding.
There are 90 foreign players who have made themselves available for selection as well, including star names like Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Misbah ul-Haq, Hamilton Masakadza, Darren Sammy and Mark Wood.
The fixtures for the tournament, which starts in early November, will also be announced in Cape Town on Monday.
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir, Samuel Badree (WI), Darren Sammy (WI), Paul Collingwood (Eng), George Bailey (Aus), Ben Cutting (Aus), Tim Paine (Aus), Tamim Iqbal (Bang), Grant Elliott (NZ), Thisara Perera (SL).