This is a SuperCoach BBL warning: Don’t start these 10 players!
As tempting as it is to pick the biggest names in SuperCoach BBL from the start, some don’t arrive until mid-tournament! Don’t make the mistake of having these 10 stars in your Round 1 side.
SuperCoach BBL
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SuperCoach BBL is as much about managing the fixture as it is picking the big guns from the start.
In SuperCoach AFL and NRL, you can load your team with premium players from Round 1 and benefit from their scoring.
In SuperCoach BBL, you need to juggle double game weeks, availability and injuries.
Some of the premier players in the BBL don’t arrive until mid-season, including Brisbane Heat’s marquee signing AB De Villiers.
Australian duties will rule Steve Smith and Matthew Wade out of the early rounds, with Smith not expected to feature until later in the tournament.
Then there’s the likes of Jofra Archer, who’s signed on with Hobart Hurricanes but won’t feature due to England’s tour of South Africa.
Here’s 10 players you shouldn’t have in your starting team.
1. AB De Villiers (Brisbane Heat) $225,000 BAT
Availability: De Villiers has signed for the last six games of the regular season plus finals, should the Heat qualify.
Ownership: 18.14% of teams
2. Steve Smith (Sydney Sixers) $225,000 BAT
Availability: Australia’s one-day tour of India is January 14-19. That puts him in line to play in the last two games of the regular season (Sixers play Jan 23 against Brisbane) and finals.
Ownership: 2.29% of teams
3. Rashid Khan (Adelaide Strikers) $203,300 BWL
Availability: Will play the full tournament but has a bye Round 1. Make plans to trade him in, but $203,300 is too much to stash on the bench.
Ownership: 16.66%
4. Mohammad Nabi (Melbourne Renegades) $149,200 BAT-BWL
Availability: Nabi won’t join the Renegades until their ninth game of BBL09 due to commitments in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Ownership: 10.4%
5. Matthew Wade (Hobart Hurricanes) $187,200 WKP-BAT
Availability: Will depend on whether he’s selected for the one-day tour of India. The third Test against New Zealand finishes January 7 and Wade could otherwise play for the Hurricanes on January 9 in Brisbane.
Ownership: 14.14%
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6. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat) $158,200 BWL
Availability: Mujeeb will replace fellow spinner Zahir Khan after the Heat’s opening eight games. He’s playing in the Bangladesh Premier League before then.
Ownership: 6.1%
7. Andrew Tye (Perth Scorchers) $149,800 BWL
Availability: One of the Big Bash League’s most successful bowlers will be out for the summer as he recovers from elbow surgery.
Ownership: 7.3%
8. Jofra Archer (Hobart Hurricanes) $148,500 BWL
Availability: Archer has been replaced in the Hurricanes’ squad by big-hitting South African David Miller as he’ll be touring South Africa with England during the BBL.
Ownership: 12.6%
9. Jason Behrendorff (Perth Scorchers) $142,800 BWL
Availability: Another key Scorchers quick who has been struck down by injury. Behrendorff will be sidelined after a recurrence of a back issue which has troubled him previously.
Ownership: 4.39%
10. Faheem Ashraf (Melbourne Renegades) $105,000 BAT-BWL
Availability: Days after being signed by the Renegades, Ashraf was recalled by his local club in Pakistan. He won’t feature at all in BBL09 and his spot has been taken by Englishman Richard Gleeson.
Ownership: 1.27%
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