BBL 2020: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Dawid Malan sign up for Australian T20 tournament

Sydney: All three of the world’s top-ranked T20 players have signed on for Australia’s Big Bash League with Afghan spin king Rashid Khan confirming his return to the Adelaide Strikers on Thursday. The 10th season of the eight-franchise tournament is set to start on 3 December and end with the final on 6 February, with the Sydney Sixers defending their title. Khan, the world’s No 1 T20 bowler, will be back for the Strikers, who are coached by Jason Gillespie. “I’m so happy that I am able to play for the Strikers again in a big 10th season of the Big Bash, and I have loved this competition from the very beginning,” Khan said. “The Strikers have been like a family to me since I joined them, and I am so thankful to the fans who have been supporting me and made me feel like Adelaide is my home.” [caption id=“attachment_8939771” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rashid Khan will be back for Adelaide Strikers in BBL 2020. Image courtesy: Twitter @StrikersBBL[/caption] His return follows this week’s signings of England’s top-ranked batsman Dawid Malan by the Hobart Hurricanes and Afghan allrounder Mohammad Nabi by the Melbourne Renegades. Others on board include English internationals Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder), Tom Banton (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers). More are expected to sign-up because Big Bash clubs this year are allowed a third overseas player after the Australian Cricketers Association dropped longstanding opposition to the move. The decision is partly to compensate for expanded Australian national squads likely being required this summer due to COVID-19 “hub” restrictions, which could prevent them from playing in the Big Bash League. The Women’s Big Bash League starts on Sunday.