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Ahead of Men’s Big Bash League (BBL) 2022, Melbourne Renegades have suffered a massive blow as Liam Livingstone, the number one pick in the inaugural overseas player draft has pulled out of the tournament due to his international commitments.
Initially, Livingstone was set to play the first part of the BBL and be unavailable for the second half, having signed to play in the new SA20 league in January. But, he was then selected for England’s Test tour of Pakistan in December, and Renegades signed Andre Russell for a four-game deal in the hope that Livingstone could join Renegades for a short stint after the Pakistan tour.
But Livingstone has decided to withdraw from the BBL, becoming the second English player and platinum signing after David Willey to pull out of the tournament.
“We’re obviously disappointed that we won’t have Liam as part of our team this summer, but we understand his decision. Liam is a fantastic cricketer, and there’s a reason we used our first pick in the draft to select him. Since then, his schedule has changed with added international duties, and we wish him the best as he pushes for a Test debut,” said Renegades general manager James Rosengarten in an official statement.
“We know Liam had been looking forward to working with our head coach, David Saker, and playing for our club. Hopefully, we can make that happen in the coming seasons. We have been in regular communication with Liam and his management over the last couple of months, which has allowed us to execute a plan that is best for the Renegades for this season. We’ve already secured Andre Russell for the first four matches and know the match-winning ability he will add to our team,” he added.
Melbourne Renegades’ BBL|12 Squad:
Nic Maddinson (Captain), Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein*, Ruwantha Kellapotha*, Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman*, Jon Wells.
*Overseas Players
