The Big Bash will have a pool of official replacement players available to all eight teams

Big Bash players could suit up for two different teams in the same week under a bold plan to get the season finished as Covid wipes out rosters.

Glenn Maxwell has been sidelined by Covid-19 (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)

An expanding pool of “local replacement players” will be parachuted in to the BBL bubble in Melbourne to provide teams with extra resources should Covid continue to wipe rosters out.

Former Test opener Matthew Renshaw was added to the growing number of Big Bash players who have tested positive to the virus on Monday hours before his Adelaide Strikers played the Melbourne Stars at the MCG.

The Stars were without captain Glenn Maxwell after he also tested positive last week and Cricket Australia made the decision to move all eight teams to Melbourne in a bid to get the last part of the season complete.

With player numbers dwindling officials signed up eight players to act as replacements for one or more teams with the potential for that group to grow should extra numbers be needed.

Any extra players added to the eight in the LRP would need to be approved by CA and also be able to move between teams as the season nears its climax.

“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,” Big Bash boss Alistair Dobson said.

“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.”

Matthew Renshaw of the Strikers has tested positive to Covid-19 (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

The eight players currently in the replacement pool have been assigned “home” clubs for training purposes but could be called upon by any team needing help.

Officials confirmed the list could grow in the coming days as the Covid situation continues to play out and teams need 13 player for each game, including two X-factor subs.

Batsman Justin Avendano has already played for both the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers this season, before the new player pool was implemented.

Justin Avendano bats for the Sydney Sixers on Sunday night (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

It’s a system which had also been used in the WBBL where a pool of both international and local replacement players were available last summer when all teams were based in a Sydney hub.

New Zealand fast bowler Rosemary Mair playing for both the Stars and the Renegades, and training with ‘home’ club Perth Scorchers.

The eight players currently in the central LRP pool are (home club in brackets):

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)

Originally published as The Big Bash will have a pool of official replacement players available to all eight teams