by Harmanpreet, Rodrigues set the highest reserve price
Six Indian women signed up, and Harmanpreet and Rodrigues set themselves the highest reserve price of £31,250 (approximately INR 31 lakh). Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Disha Kasat and Kiran Navgire entered the draft with no reserve price.
Laura Wolvaardt, Diana Baig, Lizelle Lee and Dane van Nierkerk also applied. In total, 148 foreign players compete for 15 spots, including players from Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Afghanistan, Kuwait, France, Bhutan and Vanuatu.
Each women’s team will pick four players in the draft, with the exception of Welsh Fire who will sign five after opting to keep only three players. After the draft, each team will fill its eight highest-paying slots, three of which will go to foreign players; there will be an open market window where teams can complete their rosters.
Starc Australia’s leading contestant
Most of Australia’s multi-format players have dropped out of the men’s 100, with the names of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith and David Warner not making the long list. The 100 starts the day after the scheduled fifth day of the fifth men’s Ashes test.
But Starc has decided to move forward and could enter the competition for the first time if selected in one of the five £125,000 vacancies that are available to a foreign player. His availability may depend on the dates of the Australian tour to South Africa, which is due to start in the last week of August.
ESPNcricinfo understands that he considered entering the competition last year and was voted the top pick by Northern Superchargers – where his wife Alyssa Healy plays – only to pull out shortly before the registration deadline.
Superchargers are unable to sign him this year as they don’t have a £125,000 vacancy. His most likely destinations are Mike Hussey’s Welsh Fire – who signed him in the 2019 draft before opting to withdraw – and Trevor Bayliss’ London Spirit.
Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis also set reserves of £125,000. Other notable Australian signings include Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson (both £100,000), Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja (both £60,000). Tim David (£75,000) is expected to return to the Southern Brave while Ashton Turner (no reserve) could be a contender for the Northern Superchargers captaincy.
Availability rules the roost
Many top Pakistani players signed up for the draft, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. But their availability will depend on the timing of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, scheduled to be played in the third week of August under the Future Tours programme.
Pakistan is also due to play a two-test series in Sri Lanka in late July, which could extend into August and further limit availability. Shadab Khan (Birmingham Phoenix) was the only remaining Pakistani player.
New Zealand players are expected to be in high demand in the draft, with a clear window in their schedule in August ahead of a September trip to England with the white ball. Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson registered reserves of £100,000 while Southern Brave field Devon Conway (£50,000) with an early pick.
Many West Indies players including Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder have signed up but are unlikely to be signed due to their clash with the Caribbean Premier League. Sunil Narine has been retained by the Oval Invincibles but is expected to replace him after four or five games.
Uthappa registers
No reserve for Duckett, Topley
Tom Abell, who has been put up as a potential captain by the Welsh Fire, has a £40,000 reserve, along with Chris Dent, Graeme van Buuren and English seamstresses Ollie Robinson and Olly Stone.
Ben Duckett, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Reece Topley and Tom Banton, who are expected to be among the most lucrative transfers eligible for England, have all entered without reserve price.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
