Cricket Australia forces Pakistan players to sacrifice international duty to play full BBL

Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed that Pakistan players signed to the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 will be available for the full season. Greenberg stated that the Pakistan cricketers will prioritize their BBL commitments despite Pakistan being scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for T20Is in January.

There was uncertainty over the availability of Pakistan’s players for the BBL after the PCB announced a T20I series in Sri Lanka. Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali have been involved in the BBL, and the schedule created doubts over their availability.

They’ll Play the Whole BBL - CA CEO Todd Greenberg on Pakistan Players

Cricket Australia remains confident that Pakistan players contracted to the Big Bash League will stay for the full tournament. Speaking in Adelaide ahead of the third Ashes Test, CA chief Todd Greenberg said the board has been assured that BBL signings will not be withdrawn midway.

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“We’ve been told that if they’ve been signed by the BBL, they’ll play the whole BBL,” Greenberg said.

Australia will travel to Pakistan for a T20I series ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. However, the schedule for the T20I series is yet to be confirmed. The ODI leg of the tour will be pushed back to June, after the IPL and PSL finish, as part of adjustments within the Future Tours Programme.

We’ve Just Sent a Couple of People to Pakistan - Todd Greenberg

Greenberg also confirmed that plans for Australia’s T20I tour of Pakistan before the T20 World Cup are progressing. While the dates are still to be finalised, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association have already sent representatives to Pakistan to assess security arrangements.

"We've just sent a couple of people to Pakistan to do a pre-tour for the T20I games in February," he said. "We're going to have some conversations with the players after the [Ashes] series and explain to them how that will work with security. But I went there with them in 2022 and it was an amazing experience."

The Pink-Ball Test Was Unbelievable - Todd Greenberg

Todd Greenberg said that night sessions during pink-ball Tests attract far more viewers than traditional daytime play. He added that Australia will host at least one pink-ball Test until 2031. Greenberg said it plays an important role in growing interest amid the changing nature of Test cricket.

"I've just reviewed the numbers from the Gabba, the pink-ball Test was unbelievable," Greenberg said. "The night session, particularly, has double the number of viewers that we would get from the last session here today. There's no doubt that it's a successful opportunity for cricket. It gets more people watching and more people engaged in it.

"It's in our broadcast contracts until 2031 that we will play a pink-ball Test. So it's not going anywhere. There's not going to be more of it, I'm not going to be playing five of them over summer. But it has real benefits. I understand that there'll be people who'll be critical of it, and I'm not asking for everyone to love it. But this is the evolution of Test cricket."

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