Cricket Australia has introduced an option of clubs signing one overseas player in the BBL and WBBL on a multi-year deal outside of the drafts, in an attempt to lure players from the other leagues of the world.
The only catch is that the player must be available for the entire tournament, including finals, after next season.
Players who sign a contract before the draft, be it single year or up to three years, cannot be retained by their former club. Players such as Rashid Khan is an example as he was drafted by Melbourne Stars only for Adelaide Strikers to retain him after using their retention pick.
The new multi-year contracts can be negotiated at any price where the BBL players can command a figure above the current overseas draft platinum contract of AUD$420,000. However, the club will still need to fit all 18 players in their squad under the AUD$3 million salary cap. In the WBBL the platinum level is AUD$110,000.
The BBL only allows clubs to retain 10 players on their 18-player list each season to try and promote player movement.
BBL’s knockout stages suffered, in recent seasons, after a flurry of overseas players travelled to participate in the ILT20 and the SA20 in between the season.
The competition dates are yet to be announced but it is likely to start just after the Adelaide Test between Australia and India, which finishes on December 10, and run through until the last week of January.
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