Melbourne Stars sign quickly with New Zealand Adam Milne for a pre-Christmas stint in the BBL to replace the Pakistani legspinner Osama Mir who will miss the first three matches of the season.
Meanwhile, the Stars are expected to unveil a new captain this week after Glenn Maxwell retired at the end of last season. Maxwell is unlikely to be fit for the opener against the Perth Scorchers on December 15 as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury and it remains to be seen whether he will feature in any of the first three matches before Christmas.
Mir is also unavailable for the first three matches against the Scorchers, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers which will be played in three cities in the space of five days. The stars rushed to Milne to replace these three games. He previously played in the BBL for the Sydney Thunder in 2020-21, taking just 5 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 7.56.
“Being able to sign someone of Adam’s talent and experience is a huge boost to the team for the first three games,” Melbourne Stars general manager Blair Crouch said.
“Adam is familiar with Australian conditions, we like what he will add to the team and we can’t wait to see what he can produce.”
Milne also covers the lack of Scott Boland which is in testing service. Stars might also lack versatility Beau Webster for at least the opening match in Perth, as he looks set to stay with the Test team for the third Test against India in Brisbane which begins on December 14. The Stars’ second BBL match against Heat will take place on day five of the third Test, meaning Webster could potentially be available if he is released from the Test squad pending Mitchell Marsh’s fitness.
Stars also miss England’s first Test match Ben Duckett for the first three matches of the BBL season, as he completes his Test duties in New Zealand, with Joe Clarke ready for his second stint at the Stars as a replacement after playing two seasons from 2021-23. Clarke also played six games for the Melbourne Renegades last season and three games for the Scorchers in 2020. He most recently played for Victoria in the Global Super League in Guyana.
Meanwhile, the Renegades have signed an American spin-bowling all-rounder Hassan Khan as a replacement player. The former Pakistan Under-19 representative is yet to play international cricket, but played for the San Francisco Unicorns, a franchise run by Cricket Victoria, in Major League Cricket, taking 10 wickets and scoring 204 runs with a strike rate of 143.70 in his nine matches. He was named national player of the tournament. He also performed well for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the GSL.
“Hassan is an exciting young talent who gives us options in both departments,” said Renegades general manager James Rosengarten. “His ability to contribute those important intermediate passes with the ball and add valuable points down the order will be crucial as we strive for success this season.”
Hobart Hurricanes sign left-arm wrist spinner in Afghanistan Waqar Salamkheil as a replacement abroad for Rishad Hossain who was left out of the entire BBL due to Bangladesh and Bangladesh Premier League international commitments, despite being the Hurricanes’ third pick in the overseas draft.
Salamkheil will be available for the first six matches of the BBL season before departing for ILT20 in January. He was the leading wicket-taker for Trinbago Knight Riders in the recent Caribbean Premier League, claiming 15 scalps in 11 matches, playing alongside two other Hurricanes players, Tim David and Chris Jordan.
“Waqar is a fantastic young talent, he adds a different element to our bowling team and is a wrist spinner with a well-disguised false-one, similar to Rishad,” said Salliann Beams, Hurricanes high performance manager.
“Although we are disappointed that Rishad cannot join us because of the BPL, we know we have someone who will help us win matches in the first half of the tournament in Waqar.
“He was on our radar during the draft, with Ricky (Ponting) and Hopsey (James Hopes) familiar with his talent having seen him play in franchise cricket, he will complement what we already have in our squad.”
