West Indian superstar Andre Russell could yet make a Big Bash appearance after the No.1 pick in the inaugural draft, Liam Livingstone, was ruled out of the early part of the tournament after being called up to England’s Test team.
Livingstone, who has been a BBL star for the Perth Scorchers, was taken as the first pick by the Melbourne Renegades ahead of the likes of Russell and South African Faf du Plessis, who went unselected because of their limited availability after Christmas.
Russell was named a marquee player for the first edition of the UAE T20 League, which will be played at the end of January, a window that crosses over with the BBL.
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He and du Plessis were shock omissions in the draft, both having been paid marketing fees by Cricket Australia to be the faces of the new system, designed to get the biggest stars in the world into the BBL.
But needing an international player for as few as four games before Livingstone is able to join the team, Renegades officials could look to Russell or any of the other star players who were overlooked in the draft.
The Renegades could also look at players from outside the draft nomination pool, which could open the door for the likes of England’s Jos Buttler, who missed Test selection.
England’s three Tests against Pakistan are scheduled to be played from December 1-21, with Livingstone set to join the Renegades camp following his international commitments.
But Livingstone was also already one of several players set to miss the back half of the BBL as they leave to play in the SA20, South Africa‘s start-up T20 league, which is scheduled to begin from January 10.
“We’ve been aware of this possibility for a little while now and have been working through Liam’s availability and what’s best for the Renegades,” Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said.
“We believe Liam can still have a big impact for us in BBL|12, and in our recent discussions, he’s still looking forward to being part of our team, being back in the BBL and playing as many games as he can for our club following his international commitments.
“We’ll continue to work with Liam over the coming weeks as to exactly how this looks.
“At the same time, we have already been working behind the scenes on finding the best player for our needs when Liam is unavailable. There are several world-class players who are now available to us during this period, and we will leave no stone unturned to give our team the best chance of success this season.”
The Renegades begin their BBL campaign on December 15 against the Brisbane Heat in Cairns, with their first home game on December 18 against the Sydney Thunder at Marvel Stadium.
