JOHANNESBURG, August 25 (ANA) – The T20 Global League official Player Draft will be held in Cape Town on Saturday and Sunday, with almost 400 players from 13 countries confirming their interest.
The Draft will consist of 16 rounds, with eight (8) selected picks in each round.
Each franchise has already been allocated a marquee Protea player, and on Saturday evening at a Player Gala the allocation of the eight international marquee players will be determined by a Mini Draft. This then leaves space for another 16 players per squad, who will be determined at Sunday’s main Player Draft. With the marquee players already assigned, Sunday will only see another 32 international players and 96 local players given the opportunity to play in the tournament.
“All players in the Draft, irrespective of the categories assigned to them – excluding the marquee players – will be eligible to be picked in any of the 16 rounds. This includes the Rookie players,” says tournament director, Russell Adams.
CSA last week confirmed that five international players can be included in a squad of 18. Each team must draft two rookies, opening up the League to young player development.
With each franchise operating within the same stipulated financial boundaries, there will be two opportunities for each side to have the first choice as 16 rounds of drafting take place, with the Durban Qalandars being allocated the fortunate first pick of Round 1.
Ahead of the Player Draft, Cricket South Africa (CSA) held a lottery event on Monday, to determine the order for the Player Draft on the Sunday. Auditors EY were present to ensure complete transparency and adherence to the process and regulations. “A major consideration in making the Draft fair was to determine the order of the selection process that would not provide any team with an unfair advantage,” says Adams.
With big names lining up to play and coach in the inaugural tournament, it’s no surprise the cream of the cricketing crop will be present in Cape Town this weekend.
– African News Agency (ANA)
