BBL creates central pool of local replacement players amid Covid wave

The Big Bash League has created a central pool of Local Replacement Players (LRP) to help teams plug Covid-enforced gaps in their squad over the remainder of the season.

Each player will live under BBL protocols and be assigned a 'home' Club for logistical purposes while part of the central pool. A player can then be contracted by any club as an LRP under the existing BBL contracting rules. A replacement player already part of an 18-member squad of any team continues to remain with that side until the original player returns, post which the replacement will return to the central pool as per the technical committee's discretion.

As per the league's protocol for the remainder of the season, clubs will be unable to sign local replacement players from outside the central pool unless approved by the BBL Technical Committee.

The creation of the central pool was necessitated after the BBL was hit hard by the ongoing Covid wave in Australia. Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat are among the most affected teams in the league, missing 13 and 12 players respectively to Covid-enforced isolation. The league has decided to move all the eight teams to the Victoria hub for the remainder of the matches to counter the COVID-19 outbreak within the sides.

"The Local Replacement Player pool is another example of the League and Clubs working together to address the challenges of the season with innovative solutions,

" Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's General Manager for BBL said on Monday (January 10).

"The player pool provides Clubs with increased options should injury, illness or other circumstances affect availability of players, while also streamlining the process of integrating LRPs into the group from a biosecurity perspective."

Players Currently in the Pool: Nicholas Bertus (Sydney Sixers), Jake Carder (Perth Scorchers), Iain Carlisle (Hobart Hurricanes), Daniel Drew (Adelaide Strikers), Jake Doran (Melbourne Stars), Lachlan Hearne (Sydney Thunder), Lachlan Pfeffer (Brisbane Heat - currently in Heat 18-player squad), Brayden Stepien (Melbourne Renegades)

* More players to be added to the pool