Melbourne Renegades, a struggling team, won the lottery held by Cricket Australia on Wednesday and so secured the coveted first pick in the Big Bash League's (BBL) first overseas player draught.
The Renegades, who finished last season with a wooden spoon, defeated the Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat in the first of two lotteries held on Wednesday at Cricket Australia's headquarters in Melbourne. As a result, they now have a 50% chance of getting the first pick in the draught.
The Heat received the third pick after the Stars were pulled out second.
The Sydney Sixers, who had only a 13% chance of picking fourth after finishing second last summer, were drawn out next in the second lottery for picks four through to eight, which was when the biggest surprise occurred, according to a report in cricket.com.au.
The Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan is set to be retained by the Adelaide Strikers with the sixth pick going to the defending champion Perth Scorchers, who only had one entry in the second lottery, ahead of the Sydney Thunder, who will pick seventh.
The Strikers won the previous year's Eliminator final, giving the Hurricanes the best chance of obtaining the fourth pick. That left the Hurricanes with pick eight.
The BBL-12 Draft will take place on August 28 following the first ODI between Australia and Zimbabwe, the league also confirmed.
Former Australian cricketers Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey, and Darren Lehmann among others will host the draught.
Only 28 of the more than 170 nominations for the draught have so far been made public, but those in the running to be chosen with the first pick include Rashid, Faf du Plessis, Kieron Pollard, and Dwayne Bravo, according to the report. Additional "Platinum" level players are expected to be announced in the upcoming weeks. The additional rankings include Gold and Silver.
Should those players enter the draft, the Renegades will be able to keep Reece Topley, who is currently leading England in white-ball wickets with 18 at 18.33, the Afghanistan duo of Mohammad Nabi and Zahir Khan, and the former India U19 captain Unmukt Chand.