Prabath Jayasuriya

Dinesh Chandimal

Two Sri Lankan stars who dominated Australia in the recent Test in Galle have been nominated to play in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) this upcoming season with Prabath Jayasuriya and Dinesh Chandimal among the latest names to headline a host of new nominations for the upcoming overseas draft.

Jayasuriya, Chandimal, Maheesh Theekshana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Lakshan Sandakan have all been nominated, while England’s Overton brothers, Jamie and Craig, have also put their names forward. None of those players have played in BBL before and Jayasuriya, having taken 29 wickets in his first three Tests, has never even played a T20I for Sri Lanka.

But there are still no Pakistan players amongst the 169 players currently nominated after it was revealed that the PCB is refusing to provide no-objection certificates (NOCs) to Pakistani players - contracted or not contracted - who want to participate in the upcoming BBL season.

Overall, players from 13 countries were added to the draft. Nominations close on 21 August with the event to be held on 28 August. Players who have already been nominated can change their availability status right up until the cut off. That leaves clubs with just seven days to finalise their draft strategy.

Jayasuriya strong contender for ICC Player of the Month award