Faf du Plessis becomes the first draft nomination for BBL

A week back, BBL announced that it was introducing an NFL-style player draft system to ensure the induction of the best overseas players coming to the league. A week later, it had its first marquee moniker secured as RCB skipper Faf du Plessis confirmed his return to the BBL for the upcoming summer.

Du Plessis recently finished as the highest run-scorer for the Royal Challengers Bangalore while leading them to third place. Since he bid adieu to Test cricket, his popularity in franchise cricket has been soaring. With 7608 career runs from 293 games, Du Plessis is one of the most sought-after T20 assets around the circuit.

Alongside Faf, the inclusion of Rilee Rousow was also confirmed and the latter has been in screaming touch in the English T20 Blast with 498 runs that came at a breezy strike rate of 191.53. Roussow is also a renowned appellation in the shortest format of the game with 6307 runs at an average of 31.22 and a strike rate of 141.57.

The third nomination for the draft was David Wiese who had a phenomenal PSL and is currently leading the Namibian national team. The fourth and the final South African in the first-round draft was Marchant de Lange who has found himself in the midst of some searing heat with the cherry in his hands.