The Big Bash League has created a central pool of Local Replacement Players (LRP) to help teams plug Covid-enforced gaps in their squad over the remainder of the season.
BBL 2021-22
BBL creates central pool of local replacement players amid Covid wave
Representative Image: The BBL 2021-22 has been hit by a wave of Covid cases. © Getty
Each player will live under BBL protocols and be assigned a 'home' Club for logistical purposes while part of the central pool. A player can then be contracted by any club as an LRP under the existing BBL contracting rules. A replacement player already part of an 18-member squad of any team continues to remain with that side until the original player returns, post which the replacement will return to the central pool as per the technical committee's discretion.
As per the league's protocol for the remainder of the season, clubs will be unable to sign local replacement players from outside the central pool unless approved by the BBL Technical Committee.
The creation of the central pool was necessitated after the BBL was hit hard by the ongoing Covid wave in Australia. Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat are among the most affected teams in the league, missing 13 and 12 players respectively to Covid-enforced isolation. The league has decided to move all the eight teams to the
