Australia’s BBL sends a game to India
Chennai will host the inaugural match of the Big Bash League this summer after India’s cricket authority approved Cricket Australia’s bid to raise the tournament’s profile in the country.
The five-member CA advancement group, including BBL president Alistair Dobson, was in India over the weekend to watch Chennai’s final home IPL match for the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, which witnessed the drawn Test between India and Australia 40 years ago.
They were welcomed by the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Mithun Manhas, who took over from former Test professional Roger Binny late last year.
According to a report in Indian ExpressCA has received “positive news” from the BCCI about the plan, which will feature a stand-alone game in mid-December after being scaled back from initial concepts involving multiple games and teams.
CA president Mike Baird will meet International Cricket Council president Jay Shah as part of regular ICC meetings coinciding with the IPL final in Ahmedabad at the end of May, after which a formal announcement can be expected.
The idea of playing a BBL game in India, cricket’s biggest market by a wide margin, was put forward by former AFL manager Dobson and CA chief executive and former NRL boss Todd Greenberg. Both football luminaries have tried many times to take games overseas, most recently during the NRL’s extravagant opening round in Las Vegas.
American sports has also had plenty of overseas heralding: Sydney and London are among the cities hosting Major League baseball, while Melbourne was recently appointed to have an NFL fixture at the MCG later this year.
CA’s push to bring the BBL to India comes after years of frustration over the BCCI’s steadfast refusal to allow contracted players to take part in overseas T20 leagues. Recently retired Indian spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was set to play for Sydney Thunder last summer before he was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Talks have progressed in parallel with long-running discussions about plans to sell shares in BBL clubs to private investors. CA is currently working on a hybrid or phased approach to sales teams after NSW and Queensland opposed the move and South Australia also raised questions.
It has not yet been decided which two clubs will compete in the opening match in India, although Perth Scorchers are widely thought to be a likely candidate.
The Thunder, long associated with the thriving Indian immigrant community in Western Sydney, are also a possibility.
One of the obstacles to the initiative will be Chennai’s monsoon climate, with heavy rains usually falling in December.
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Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of many books on cricket.Connect with: X.
