Faf du Plessis nominates for the BBL overseas draft

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has nominated for the new BBL overseas draft, signaling he will be available for at least a portion of the upcoming season.

The current Royal Challengers Bangalore captain was one of four overseas players announced as the first batch of nominees for the draft that is set to be held in August.

Fellow South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw, former South Africa and current Namibia allrounder David Wiese, and former South Africa and current Somerset quick Marchant de Lange were also unveiled by the BBL on Thursday.

Overseas players must nominate their price category - gold, silver or bronze - and their availability for the BBL ahead of the draft.

They do not have to be available for the whole tournament but must be available for a portion. There is a fourth platinum category that will feature players handpicked by the BBL for the top salary of $AUD340,000 with du Plessis likely to be one of those. However, whether any of the four players are available for the entire tournament remains to be seen. The BBL is set to run from mid-December until the end of January. The dates for the new UAE and South Africa T20 leagues are yet to be announced but all four players would attract interest from both of those leagues, with du Plessis almost certain to feature at home.

Du Plessis has appeared in one game in the BBL back in 2012, playing for Melbourne Renegades just after scoring a century on Test debut in Adelaide. He played alongside Aaron Finch and Muthiah Muralidaran and against Shane Warne in that fixture facing Melbourne Stars.

Rossouw, who has been called back into the South Africa T20I squad for the first time in six years ahead of the tour of England, played seven matches for Renegades in the BBL in the 2020-21 season.

Wiese has never played in the BBL but is currently just six games shy of playing 300 T20s, having played T20I cricket for both South Africa and Namibia. He was a key contributor for Namibia at the 2021 T20 World Cup. He has also been a regular in the PSL, CPL, and the Vitality Blast. He also played in the Hundred last year.

De Lange has not played international cricket since 2016 having committed his future to English domestic cricket in 2017. He has played one T20I in Australia back in 2014 but has also never featured in the BBL. He took 4 for 9 for Somerset in a recent Vitality Blast clash against Essex.