Last-minute intel on how BBL Draft may play out

Pick 1: Brisbane Heat

The big question here is how much money do the Heat have in their coffers? Neither of their Test players Usman Khawaja or Marnus Labuschagne are on the league's marquee supplementary list that clubs can use to sign CA contracted players outside of their regular 18-man roster (although Labuschagne is yet to re-sign for BBL|15).

Brisbane must use one of their Platinum picks in either round 1 or 2 on pre-signing Colin Munro. That means the Heat will need to splash on a second Platinum salary to select a fresh face with pick one. Two Platinum picks for internationals with full availability for the season would mean the Heat are spending $840,000 of their $3m salary cap.

That being said, is Shaheen Shah Afridi too good to look past for pick one? The Heat have played their cards close to their chest in the lead up to today's draft but adding the Pakistan star to a local pace battery of Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett and Michael Neser would make them a feared bowling attack.

Pick 2: Adelaide Strikers

Adelaide's pre-signing Jamie Overton looks like being part of England's Ashes planning this summer following his recall to the Test squad for their series against India that starts this week. The Strikers are all but resigned to the fact he will miss this season, with coach Tim Paine telling News Corp: "We were kind of already planning towards that potential anyway. We have got lots of contingency options and a lot of that will centre around Jamie because that can change the whole set-up of our team."

As a pre-signing, the Strikers have to use one of their Platinum picks in the first two rounds on Overton but can do that with pick 10 in the second round all-but knowing he's not likely to feature for them this summer.

It means the Strikers would desperately love for the Heat to pass on Shaheen and snap him up with pick two, but if they don't, fellow Pakistani Mohammad Rizwan is a strong contender, given gloveman Alex Carey will be on Ashes duty, alongside Travis Head.

Pick 3: Melbourne Renegades

More Ashes influence on the BBL here, with last season's star Jacob Bethell unavailable, even though he was overlooked for the No.3 spot in the Test side to face India overnight. Renegades coach Cameron White has flagged they are after an allrounder, or at least a batter who can offer bowling support, with Bethell out of the equation for them.

Sam Curran would be a solid fit in that role, providing he's not picked up by the Brisbane Heat or Adelaide Strikers drafting ahead of them, as would Pakistan's Shadab Khan.

The other big question for the Gades is how much they value Laurie Evans. The Gades pick ahead of Perth, who have flagged their strong interest in grabbing the Englishman back. So if the Gades don't take him in round 1, then they would lose the option to exercise their retention rights with Perth picking after them.

Their pre-signing, NZ's Tim Seifert, is in the Gold salary band, meaning they can use either pick 11 or 22 for him.

Pick 4: Perth Scorchers

As noted above, the Perth Scorchers are dead keen on a return to the west for Englishman Laurie Evans, the hero of Perth's BBL|11 title.

Evans was snatched by the Renegades with pick three last season, and Perth are in a wait-and-see holding pattern on what the Gades do.

If Rizwan is still on the table when they pick, Perth could be tempted to take the Pakistan gloveman given Josh Inglis is likely to spend the summer with the Test squad, a loss that is offset by the likely full-season availability of Mitch Marsh.

Perth must use either one of their picks in the first two rounds on their Kiwi pre-signing Finn Allen in the Platinum band but could let that slide all the way to pick 16, last in the second round, having traded away pick 12 to the Sydney Thunder.

Perth also picked up pick 17 in that deal (the Thunder got pick 21) allowing the Scorchers to pick first in the third round when Silver band options are on the table as well, where Perth coach Adam Voges flagged an interest in picking a right-arm spinner to complement the left-arm options of Cooper Connolly and Ashton Agar.

Pick 5: Hobart Hurricanes

Defending Big Bash champions Hobart are expected to look to bolster their spin stocks in the draft. The Canes would love Pakistan's Shadab Khan to still be on the table when they pick.

Other options would include Kiwi leggie Ish Sodhi, Pakistan's Usama Mir or England's Rehan Ahmed, or a return for Afghanistan's Waqar Salamkheil, but if they go this way, may look to use later round picks.

They must use a pick in the first two rounds on Chris Jordan, their Platinum pre-signing, and will also look for allrounder cover with Beau Webster, their prize off-season recruit, likely to be with the Test squad for the summer.

Caleb Jewell's move to the Renegades was softened by the signing of Jake Weatherald to complete his Tasmania move, perhaps negating the need to find an overseas top-order player.

Pick 6: Sydney Sixers

The Sixers have arguably already won the draft having snared Pakistan supremo Babar Azam as their pre-signing, and he will be available for the entire season and finals.

Babar will take their Platinum level pick and his arrival to bat at the top of the order moves their draft focus down the order, with a fast bowler in their sights with Jackson Bird not returning.

There's plenty of options in this draft and the Sixers have been coy on which way they'll go, while in later rounds a club known for prizing a consistent roster could mean a return for Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan.

Pick 7: Melbourne Stars

The Stars look to be another to splash the cash with two Platinum selections at the draft and are looking for a fast bowler to take in the first round and then use their second round Platinum for pre-signing Tom Curran's contract.

However, at pick seven, they may somewhat be beholden to choices made before them in the draft. They might be hoping Shaheen Shah Afridi slides all the way to pick seven, or they could instead be targeting one of fellow Pakistani quicks Hassan Ali, or a return for fan favourite Haris Rauf.

The Stars took Ben Duckett with the top pick last summer but the English opener will be involved in England's Ashes campaign, meaning the Stars may be looking for another overseas opener.

An ideal target for that gap could be Pakistan's Saim Ayub, an aggressive power-hitter.

The Stars might also strongly consider adding Sam Curran to join his brother Tom should he still be available, especially given they have lost Beau Webster and Joel Paris this off-season, while Rizwan, if still available at this point, could upgrade their keeper-batter stocks.

Pick 8: Sydney Thunder

Lockie Ferguson was a key player last summer and there's no reason to think the Thunder will be looking elsewhere to lead their attack. The Thunder hold retention rights to the Kiwi quick, so will have some degree of confidence he can be snared in the first round.

But they must use one of their picks in the opening two rounds on pre-signing Sam Billings, which makes their decision to trade picks with Perth that will see them pick earlier up in round two and later in round three all the more curious.

With Sam Konstas likely to be on Ashes duties for the bulk of the BBL, the Thunder could have an opening bat in mind, although a middle-order hitter to lengthen their batting may be a more pressing priority.