Huge BBL change to entice the world’s best
SYDNEY Thunder’s English opener Alex Hales is confident a shortened Big Bash season will encourage more international stars to travel in future as many overseas players prepare to leave for other leagues.
Hales has one more match for the Thunder before he joins the UAE T20 League, with BBL headliners including Faf du Plessis, Sam Billings and Rashid Khan also set to leave in the coming days if they have not already done so.
It is a blow to the BBL, given the finals start in a few weeks, but it is an issue that may not be repeated with Cricket Australia’s new broadcast deal including a change that will see the season reduced from 61 games to 43, potentially taking two weeks off the six-week long tournament.
While the new broadcast deal does not start until 2024, that change could be implemented next season and will have a big impact on the competition, with international stars set to be more inclined to play in a shorter season.
This year’s comp started on December 13 and will not finish until the final on February 4, making it one of the longest tournaments in the world.
Many stars, including those taken in the inaugural BBL draft, either pulled out of the tournament or signed on for a handful of games because they could not commit to an entire campaign due to the packed schedule.
Hales said the impending BBL changes would encourage the world’s best T20 players to come to Australia.
“I love playing here for a couple of months because there is no better place to play cricket for a long period of time,” the Englishman said.
“But with all the money in the shorter comps in other countries, it’s too hard for players to commit for such a long period of time.”