Australia’s BBL sends a game to India
Updated ,first published
Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers are frontrunners to travel to Chennai for the opening match of the Big Bash League this summer as India’s cricket authority has reportedly approved Cricket Australia’s wish to raise the tournament’s profile in the country.
Renegades is the team founded by Cricket Victoria. wants to sell to private investors and are currently in talks with multiple venues about where they will play their home matches after their agreement to play at the AFL-owned Marvel Stadium in the Docklands expires.
In addition, Melbourne Stars have already stated that they want to move their flexible home games from Canberra and back to Junction Oval, where new floodlights have been installed in time for the summer.
Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins, who will travel to India this week with CA CEO Todd Greenberg, told this imprint: “We’d love to be a part of it and would be happy to be the home team,” but we’re not ruling out the Melbourne sides either.
By giving up one of their home games, the Renegades will allow the Scorchers, who could also be put up for sale, to play in India without losing any of their five precious fixtures at the Perth Stadium, where they are consistently one of the league’s best-drawn teams.
The five-man CA advancement group, including BBL president Alistair Dobson, was in India over the weekend and watched Chennai’s final IPL home match of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, which hosted 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 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.
One of the obstacles to the initiative will be Chennai’s monsoon climate, with heavy rains usually falling in December. CA has been contacted for comment.
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Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of many books on cricket.Connect with: X.
