It's not often that an Indian player stars in the opening game of an overseas T20 league but it's happened this time around with Shikha Pandey set to be in action for the Brisbane Heat in her very first Women's Big Bash League match when the last year's runners-up take the field at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon against the defending champions Adeialdie Strikers in a repeat of the last year's final. As many as six Indians will be in action in this year's WBBL once they are done with the New Zealand ODI series while there is also the change in guard for a couple of franchises.
Legendary captains Heather Knight and Meg Lanning have decided to leave their leadership roles in favour of youngsters Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland for Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars respectively. There will be DRS in 33 out of 43 matches with a wide coverage across Australia as far as the broadcast and venues are concerned. With the T20 World Cup just finished, there is an increased interest in the women's game and with the overseas roster expanding far and wide beyond India, New Zealand and England, it should be a good tournament.
When and where to watch the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) 2024-25 live on TV and OTT in India?
The WBBL matches are a bit weird and random in terms of match timings because time zones between Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth are different and some days there is one match, on some there is a double-header and a few days have been allotted with even three matches in a single day. So sometimes, there is a 5:30 AM start, on some there is a 8:10 AM beginning. Generally, the evening matches kick off at around 1-30-2 PM IST in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart with Perth game having a 3:30-4 PM IST start. The day games would have an 11:15 AM IST start. So yeah, it's a lot and hence, it is advised to follow the day-by-day schedule
However, there will be no difficulty in following the matches as there are no multiple broadcasters. If you tune into Star Sports Network on TV and Disney+ Hotstar online through the app or the website at any of the above given timings as per the schedule, you should be able to catch WBBL matches.
