Cricket Australia (CA) threw open the doors of Big Bash League franchises to private investors in a move that is expected to lead to a windfall of $1 billion, according to media reports in Australia.
This opens a new avenue for owners of Indian Premier League franchises to invest in the Big Bash and Women’s Big Bash.
Significantly, when CA made the announcement in a press conference the presence of top cricketers alongside CA hierarchy was the most notable part. Sitting besides CA CEO Todd Greenberg and chair Mike Baird at the press conference were Australian captains Pat Cummins, Sophie Molineux and stars such as Travis Head and Ellyse Perry. Their presence was symbolic, because the Australian Cricketers’ Association is yet to formally approve the initiative.
“Privatisation, if done well, can be a great thing for the sport,” Cummins was quoted as saying by Australia’s 7News. “So many benefits for obviously the Big Bash League, but as an Aussie captain as well, Test cricket’s so important for me, and I think this sets us up really well for the future.”
“This can unlock some new areas that we can go into in the Women’s Big Bash. New investors, new opportunities to be able to innovate and grow the game. The Women’s Big Bash, quality-wise, is still the best competition in the world. But bringing in all these new opportunities that come with privatisation can hopefully make the product even better, which is a really cool thing to be part of,” said Molineux, who captains the Renegades in the WBBL.
Talking about the impending Renegades sale, Molineux hoped that it would translate into “getting some new fans on board”.
“It’s going to feel different,” she said.”Different isn’t always … I suppose it can be a really good thing.”
The major opposition to the move towards privatisation has come from NSW and Queensland even though Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia have long backed the opportunity to have private investors.
What does the move mean?
For now, CA has said that Melbourne Renegades will become the first club to go through a sales process and will invite bids from private investors. Just a few months ago, Cricket Victoria had created a stir by announcing that it wanted to merge the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades.
The Renegades are likely to enter the 2027-28 season under new ownership.
CA chairman Baird explained that having private investors means that Australian cricket would still retain control of international scheduling, player availability, the BBL salary cap and branding proposals.
But privatisation does mean that BBL clubs could be renamed and their colours changed, as it happened with The Hundred in England last year. Oval Invincibles became MI London, Manchester Originals were rechristened as the Manchester Super Giants while Northern Superchargers turned into Sunrisers Leeds.
This year BBL will begin on December 12 when the Renegades and Scorchers play a historic match in Chennai.