The blockbuster action-packed schedule for the 14th edition of the men's Big Bash League (BBL) has been announced with no rest days apart from a couple of days on the Christmas weekend. The 2024-25 edition of BBL is set to kick off on December 15 with the Melbourne Stars taking on the most successful side in the competition, Perth Scorchers at the Optus Stadium. The first eight days will see all of the eight teams hosting at least a game each at their home venue including seven capital cities in addition to Geelong as Cricket Australia (CA) is leaving no stone unturned to get the eyeballs back on the BBL.
With the international calendar and the two new franchise leagues (ILT20 and SA20) clashing, the BBL has always struggled for relevance but CA has made sure that it changes with out-of-draft player contracts, changes in schedule and broadcasting tweaks as well.
Take a look at the full schedule:
"This is a brilliant schedule for fans, with uninterrupted action every night of the regular season and all the marquee games our fans love," said Alistair Dobson, CA's general manager of Big Bash Leagues.
"We also can't wait to welcome back members of the Australian Test team once again in January, taking advantage of a bigger window following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series." With the finals week starting January 21, the teams having contracted Test players will be able to get them back from January 7 onwards, once the five-match series against India ends in Sydney.
Currently, only Usman Khawaja (Brisbane Heat), Nathan Lyon (Melbourne Renegades) and Mitchell Marsh (Perth Scorchers) are contracted while the likes of Alex Carey, Travis Head, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne because of long association with their respective clubs usually make it to playing in the BBL.
Australia are set to tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series in early February and depending on the workload management calls CA takes on certain players, a few might be rested after the India series. The 14th edition of the BBL ends on January 27 following three playoff matches like the last season.
