Big Bash League 2024 Schedule announced: BCCI forces Australia Test players to withdraw from their own league

Big Bash League is as popular as the Indian Premier League in Australia and many Aussie fans are always excited to watch the seasons. Also, many Australian players participate in the franchise T20I league, which takes place in the December and January window every year.

Even the BBL 2024-25 schedule has been announced recently and it will begin on December 15 and end with the final on January 27. However, many key Australian Test players are expected to miss a major part of the BBL 2024-25 season as it clashes with the Australia vs Sri Lanka and Australia vs India series, set to take place at the end of 2024.

Notably, India will tour Australia for a five-match Test series from November 2024 to January 2025. The Australia vs India Test series begins on November 22 with the 1st Test on November 22 at Perth Stadium in Perth.

The India tour of Australia 2024 will conclude with the final Test on January 7. Now, Sri Lanka is also set to face Australia in Tests after the India tour from January 7 to 27 window. Hence, many Test players are highly expected to miss the final stage of BBL 2024-25 too as Aussies will tour Sri Lanka for the series.

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BBL finals to take place from Jan 21-27

Notably, the BBL finals take place from January 7 to January 27. Hence, many Australian Test players are expected to miss the BBL season 2024, especially the bowlers. Players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood have missed many BBL seasons in the past due to national duties.

During a chat with ESPN Cricinfo, Head of Big Bash League Alistair Dobson informed that Australia will tour Sri Lanka after the India series on January 7. He also said local players will still entertain the BBL fans during the season.

"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 also added that the Border Gavaskar series will be the toughest Test series for Australia. Notably, Aussies have lost the last four BGT series against India in the past.

"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.

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BBL fixtures out; Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars to play first match

Meanwhile, BBL 2024-25 fixtures have been out and according to the schedule, Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars will take on each other on December 15 in the opening clash. A total of 8 teams are part of BBL 2024 and they will battle for more than two months for the title.

All the games will take place in the afternoon according to Indian Standard Time. Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Renegades, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes, and Sydney Thunder are the 8 franchises from six Australian cities that collide for the BBL 2024 trophy.