Babar, Shaheen, other Pakistanis to play entire BBL, says CA chief

Pakistani players, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan, will be available for the entire Big Bash League (BBL) 15, Cricket Australia’s chief said, amid concerns they might be withdrawn for Pakistan’s upcoming bilateral series.

The national side is scheduled for a T20I tour of Sri Lanka in January, raising concerns that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might recall a group of players to play for the national side in the series.

However, CA Chief Todd Greenberg expressed confidence that Pakistani players would continue playing for their respective teams, saying: "We've been told that if they've been signed by the BBL, they'll play [the whole BBL]."

Speaking to reporters at the Adelaide Oval, Greenberg said that the CA has sent a party to Pakistan to finalise details for Australia's T20I tour of Pakistan in February ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"We're going to have some conversations with the players after the [Ashes] series and explain to them how that will work with security. But I went there with them in 2022 and it was an amazing experience," he added.

The 15th edition of the BBL, which kicked off on December 14, will run through January 25.

A total of six Pakistani international cricketers, including Babar, Shaheen, Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Shadab Khan, are taking part in the league.

The star trio of Babar, Rizwan, and Shaheen, however, had underwhelming BBL debuts, contributing little to their respective teams.

Babar, who was directly signed by the Sydney Sixers ahead of the players' auction, scored a scratchy two off five deliveries in the curtain raiser against Perth Scorchers on December 14 at the Optus Stadium.

Rizwan, representing Melbourne Renegades in the BBL 15, had an equally underwhelming outing with the bat as he fell for a 10-ball four in their fixture against Brisbane Heat.

The innings also saw Pakistan's ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed from attack, following two over-the-waist-height no-balls in the same over.

Shaheen, who conceded nine and 19 in his first two overs, respectively, had an abrupt ending to his third, and thus finished with dismal bowling figures of 0/43 in 2.4 overs.