Faulkner takes talents abroad to join talent-laden T10 league

James Faulkner has followed through on his vow to snub the KFC BBL and ply his trade overseas, joining the Abu Dhabi T10 league's enviable list of international talent.

Faulkner was the only Australian to be picked up in Thursday's draft for the 15-day long tournament that has attracted a host of the world's best short-form players including Andre Russell, Faf du Plessis, Eoin Morgan, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.

The 10-over-a-side ICC-sanctioned league that brands itself as 'cricket's fastest format' finishes a day before the BBL gets underway on December 5, meaning players would not be available for BBL stints until the week before Christmas given Australia's strict quarantine requirements for overseas arrivals.

With few international spots left on BBL rosters, it appears unlikely that many of the T10 participants will also feature in the BBL this summer.

Twelve players who featured in last summer's BBL were picked up in the T10 draft, including Pooran, Faulkner, Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy.

Many could head straight to the Lanka Premier League, currently scheduled to be played through December, and then onto the Pakistan Super League in February.

Rashid Khan looks likely to be the BBL's biggest international drawcard this summer, while Australia's non-Test players like Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis will likely be available for the majority of the tournament as they were last summer.

But the fact exciting emerging T20 stars like Tom Banton, also picked up in the T10 draft, and Livingstone are set to skip the BBL, the former for a second consecutive season due to concerns over bio-security restrictions and quarantine, highlights the challenges the BBL currently has in attracting top-flight talent.

There will be optimism that new BBL overseas signings like George Garton, the Adelaide Strikers left-arm quick who has made his Indian Premier League debut in recent weeks, along with highly-rated youngsters Saqib Mahmood (Sydney Thunder) and Harry Brook (Hobart Hurricanes) can help fill the void.

Another high-profile Australian without a BBL deal, leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, nominated for the T10 draft but went unsold. He could yet feature as a replacement player.

The possible absence of three former Australia limited-overs players in Faulkner, Fawad and axed Sydney Thunder captain Callum Ferguson from this summer's BBL will leave many puzzled given their strong recent T20 performances both at home and abroad.

Ferguson, 36, was one of the most dependable middle-order batters last summer, scoring 405 runs in 15 games at a strike-rate of 123.85.

Faulkner, who was unable to come to an agreement to re-sign with the Hurricanes in part due to his recent injury struggles, showed he is far from past it with standout showings with both bat and ball during the second stage of the PSL in June.

Fawad admitted to cricket.com.au last month that he had some poor games for the Perth Scorchers last summer, but was nonetheless the club's leading spin bowler and played every game for a team that made the final.

Faulkner's career with the Hurricanes came to a messy ending, publicly disputing claims that the club had offered him a multi-year deal and saying he had felt "disrespected" by a low-ball initial offer.

Ferguson's time with the Thunder likewise finished in acrimonious fashion after the club captain was delisted in the wake of their finals exit last summer.

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