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The Big Bash League (BBL) rivals the Indian Premier League in popularity among Australian fans who eagerly anticipate each season. Numerous Australian players join the franchise T20 league, typically held in December and January.
The BBL 2024-25 schedule was recently announced, starting on December 15 and culminating with the final on January 27. However, key Australian Test players are likely to be absent for much of the season due to scheduling conflicts with the Australia vs Sri Lanka and Australia vs India series at the end of 2024.
India is scheduled to tour Australia for a five-match Test series from November 2024 to January 2025, beginning with the 1st Test on November 22 at Perth Stadium. Following this, Sri Lanka will face Australia in Tests from January 7 to 27, leading to potential absences of Test players in the latter stages of BBL 2024-25.
The BBL finals are scheduled for January 21-27.
The BBL finals are scheduled from January 7 to January 27, leading to anticipated absences of key Australian Test players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, who often miss BBL seasons due to national commitments. Alistair Dobson, Head of the Big Bash League, shared with ESPN Cricinfo that despite this, local players will continue to entertain fans throughout the season, even amidst Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka following the India series in January.
“We’ve seen the last couple of seasons the impact those local heroes have when they come back into the BBL. We’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity this year from a scheduling perspective with the window post the SCG Test before our team heads off to Sri Lanka for players to play a number of games”, Alistair Dobson said.
Dobson emphasized that the Border-Gavaskar series remains Australia’s most challenging Test series. Historically, Australia has faced defeat in the last four Border-Gavaskar series against India.
“We’ve given ourselves every shot. That said a five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is probably the toughest Test series our players will play in and that’s where their focus is”.
“We’ll work with them as that series goes through to understand what they can do and whether they can play some BBL games. We know they want to and we are optimistic we’ll see a number of them back again,” he further added.
BBL fixtures out; Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars to play first match
The fixtures for BBL 2024-25 have been released, with Perth Scorchers set to face Melbourne Stars in the opening match on December 15. Featuring a total of 8 teams, the BBL 2024 season will span over two months as teams vie for the championship.
All matches will be held in the afternoon, following Indian Standard Time. The franchises competing for the BBL 2024 trophy include Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Renegades, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes, and Sydney Thunder, representing six cities across Australia.
