Privatising BBL, shifting start date among key suggestions to Cricket Australia | CricTracker

Privitisation and the potential of a later start for the men’s Big Bash League tournament have been two major recommendations presented to Cricket Australia. Boston Consulting Group has been tasked with examining and advising the Australian cricket board.   

The report presented by the BCG will go through further analysis in the coming months. As per BCG, the BBL held “significant existing commercial value” and “strong potential for further growth”. 

CA’s CEO Todd Greenberg stressed the need to keep the BBL amongst world’s elite 20-over competitions.

“The success of the T20 format has been a huge boost for the game globally in attracting new audiences and increasing participation. We need to ensure that the Big Bash remains among the world’s top sporting competitions. We will now undertake an exploratory process of the recommendations in this report to ensure any action we take achieves this potential and is in the best interests of Australian Cricket and cricket fans,” stated Greenberg, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The BBL has been a rare exception amongst T20 leagues in avoiding private investment until now. However, it seems that the BBL will follow The Hundred’s path of private investment after teams in the latter ended up being valued at a whopping £975 million. The BBL has itself seen an increase in salaries as recent seasons.

Meanwhile, the suggestion to push back the BBL comes to avoid an extended overlap with Test cricket. The case of the upcoming BBL stands as a prime example. BBL 2025/26 commences three days ahead of the third Ashes Test. For past many seasons, including the 2024-25 edition, Australia’s Test cricketers have not been available for the bulk of the BBL.

Considering the timing of Boxing Day and New Year Tests, held in Melbourne and Sydney, an exclusive window for the BBL remains improbable. The tournament has been trying to align its schedule with the summer school holidays ending in late January.

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