Pakistan duo Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are set to make their debuts in the Big Bash League, alongside a host of Australia and overseas stars.
Batter Babar will play for Sydney Sixers, while left-arm quick Shaheen has been signed by Brisbane Heat.
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Compatriots Shadab Khan (Sydney Thunder), Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) and Hasan Ali (Adelaide Strikers) are also among the standout overseas names.
Australia white-ball stars Tim David and Nathan Ellis (both Hobart Hurricanes), Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis (both Stars), plus David Warner and Sam Konstas (both Sydney Thunder) are set to feature in the whole tournament.
The availability of Steve Smith (Sixers), Travis Head (Strikers) and Mitchell Starc (Sixers) and the rest of Australia’s Ashes players is set to be decided once the series against England ends in early January.
Seamer Josh Hazlewood will likely miss the tournament as he recovers from injury, while Pat Cummins is not registered with a side.
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India’s Ravichandran Ashwin was also set to make his tournament debut but had to withdrawn due to a knee injury.
Selected non-England players involved in Big Bash 2025-26
Adelaide Strikers: Hasan Ali, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Matt Short, Chris Lynn
Brisbane Heat: Shaheen Afridi, Colin Munro, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw
Hobart Hurricanes: Rishad Hossain, Nathan Ellis, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Matthew Wade
Melbourne Renegades: Hassan Khan, Muhammad Rizwan, Tim Seifert, Jason Behrendorff, Brendan Dogged, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
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Melbourne Stars: Haris Rauf, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stones, Mitch Swepson
Perth Scorchers: Finn Allen, Ashton Agar, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner
Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
Sydney Thunder: Shadab Khan, Lockie Ferguson, David Warner, Sam Konstas, Tanveer Sangha, Cameron Bancroft
[BBC]
