Watson ruled out of BPL T20 League

The Sydney Thunder have confirmed captain and star allrounder Shane Watson is in no danger of missing their KFC Big Bash League season-opener against the Sydney Sixers after being ruled out of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament due to injury.

The 36-year-old former Test allrounder sustained a hamstring injury two weeks ago while bowling for local club Sutherland, preventing him from lining up for the Dhaka Dynamites.

However the Thunder insist their marquee player is expected to make a full recovery well in time for the Sydney Smash on December 19.

Earlier in the week, Dynamites’ head coach Khaled Mahmud Shujon confirmed reports the team had been forced to replace Watson with West Indies T20 star Kieron Pollard.

Watson had previously shown strong early-season form with the bat, after averaging 85 for Sutherland from his three matches - including a record-breaking 184-run knock last month.

However the injury-prone allrounder had only bowled a collective 19 overs for no wickets, indicating he may have been yet to reach full fitness.

Watson was due to join compatriot Michael Klinger in the BPL after the WA veteran signed on with the Khulna Titans last week.

The 37-year-old flew out for the subcontinent with the blessing of Western Australia Cricket Association and Cricket Australia coaching staff after failing to win a spot in the Warriors’ star-studded line-up for their opening JLT Sheffield Shield clash.

The tournament is understood to be a chance for the right-handed batsman to gain valuable match practice in the lead-up to the Perth Scorchers BBL|07 campaign.

The final of the BPL will be held in Dhaka on December 12, meaning Klinger will be available for the Scorchers’ season-opener on December 23.