Rauf joins PSL exodus, Heat recall nine, Hobart lose star

Melbourne Stars have been delt a massive blow in their push to play finals with star quick Haris Rauf recalled by his Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Lahore Qalanders.

Rauf is among a number of Pakistan internationals set to leave KFC BBL|11 early, with leg-spinner Shadab Khan playing his final game for the Sydney Sixers last night before departing for the PSL, which begins two days after the BBL|11 final on January 28.

The Stars confirmed Rauf's last game would be the season's second Melbourne derby against the Renegades at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

Rauf has taken seven wickets in his four matches this season with his best return of 2-25 coming in the win over the Adelaide Strikers on Monday night.

In a boost for the Heat, Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman, who was unable to play their last match and will also miss tonight's game against the Strikers at the Gabba because of Queensland's border rules, will remain with Brisbane for the rest of the regular season.

Fakhar, who has been training in Melbourne, initially signed on for a three-game stint but has only managed one appearance so far, will be available for the Heat's three remaining matches, including the Sydney Sixers game at the Gabba next Wednesday before returning home.

Fakhar has been unable to enter Queensland under the state government's border restrictions until he has spent 14 days in Australia.

The Heat will welcome back up to nine players for tonight's crucial clash against the Strikers.

Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Ben Duckett, Liam Guthrie, Matthew Kuhnemann, Chris Lynn, Nathan McSweeney, Mark Steketee and Jack Wildermuth have been cleared to return after spending the past seven days in isolation since testing positive to COVID-19.

Captain and first-choice wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson has not yet returned and the Heat said some players, including head coach Wade Seccombe continued to displaying symptoms or have not been cleared to return at this stage.

The inclusion of their first-choice players shapes as a huge boost for the Heat as the bottom four sides look set to battle it out for the last spot in the finals over the next week.

Brisbane currently occupies fifth spot on the KFC BBL|11 table but only two points separate them, the Renegades, Stars and Strikers.

A win to the Strikers tonight would lift them off the bottom and above the Heat into fifth spot – the last finals qualification position.

The Heat have lost their past two games after fielding a team mostly made up of Premier cricketers and fringe state players following 12 positive cases in their squad.

The Heat's 18-player squad for tonight’s game still features five of their replacement players – wicketkeeper Lachlan Pfeffer, spinners Paddy Dooley and Jack Wood, batter Jake Lehmann and seamer David Grant.

The replacement player squad that has played the past two matches and the group that emerged from isolation trained separately at the Gabba last night.

Nineteen-year-old Will Prestwidge, who took 2-37 in the Heat's last game against the Hobart Hurricanes, said he had used the unexpected call-up to the team as a massive learning experience.

"I was never expecting it to be like it was or how it happened … but to get the opportunity that I had, (I'll be) forever grateful," he said.

"I was just looking at to soak up the experience, have as much fun as I could and hopefully try and get the Heat boys across the line.

"It'll be great having the likes of Mark Steketee back – this is my first year in the Queensland and Heat set up and having a bloke like that there with his experience has been unbelievable so I'll be trying to stay in his little back pocket for as much as I can for the rest of the tournament."

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have been dealt a late blow with Harry Brook recalled home to England ahead of their T20 series against the West Indies.

The Hurricanes had been expecting Brook, who also has a PSL contract, to stay for the remainder of the BBL season.

However, Brook was called up overnight ahead of the five-match series in Barbados as cover for Sam Billings, the Sydney Thunder wicketkeeper-batter who was added to England's fifth Test squad.

Brook will depart immediately with England due to fly to the Caribbean this weekend.

A host of other England stars have already exited the competition ahead of the series, including Saqib Mahmood (Sydney Thunder), George Garton (Adelaide Strikers), Chris Jordan and James Vince (Sydney Sixers), Tymal Mills (Perth Scorchers) and Reece Topley (Melbourne Renegades).

The Hurricanes have confirmed that Matthew Wade will be back for Thursday's match against the Sydney Thunder at Marvel, while Tim David and Jordan Thompson, who are also involved in the PSL, will stay with the club for the remainder of BBL|11.

Heat squad for tonight's match: Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Paddy Dooley, Ben Duckett (England), David Grant, Liam Guthrie, Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Jake Lehmann, Chris Lynn, Nathan McSweeney, Lachlan Pfeffer, Will Prestwidge, Mark Steketee, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jack Wildermuth, Jack Wood