Travis Head, Test bowlers OUT of BBL 2024-25; Smith, Labuschagne given limited clearance

Cricket Australia (CA) has put restrictions on their star cricketers Steve Smith and Travis Head for the ongoing season of the Big Bash League. While Smith will play three matches of the prestigious tournament, Head has been ruled out of the whole season.

The restrictions have been put by CA due to Australia's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka where they will play a two-match Test series. Both the players are important players of the team and also form the backbone of their strong middle order.

Also read: Big blow! Team India slips behind Australia, and South Africa in ICC Test Rankings after BGT disaster

Restrictions on Travis Head and Steve Smith

Travis Head recently suffered an injury scare during the Melbourne Test between Australia and India and was in some doubt for the final Test in Sydney. However, he recovered in time and played in the fifth Test match at SCG.

Travis Head has ruled out of the upcoming BBL as he has been asked to rest before the important subcontinent tour. At No. 5, he is one of the most important and in-form players of the team. He also emerged as the highest run-getter in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 448 runs in five Tests with 2 hundreds and a fifty.

Meanwhile, Steve Smith too has shown great form recently. He started the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with some low scores but struck hundreds in Brisbane and Melbourne to announce his return to form. He scored 314 runs in five Tests with 2 hundreds.

Steve Smith will miss the match between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars at the MCG but will be available to play Sydney Sixers' match against Perth Scorchers at the SCG on Saturday. His last two games will be against Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder on January 15 and 17 respectively.

What about Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labushagne?

Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne will be available for just one match. Both will play Brisbane Heat's home match against Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba on January 16. They won't be available for the last match against Melbourne Renegades on January 18 as the team is set to depart for Sri Lanka the next day.

Other Australian players like Alex Carey, Sam Konstas, Beau Webster, Mitchell Marsh, and Jhye Richardson will be available for the rest of the season. Carey played all games in the recent Test series while Konstas played in the last two matches at MCG and SCG.

Mitchell Marsh was dropped from the final Test and Beau Webster took the opportunity with both hands and has almost sealed his place for the Sri Lanka tour. Jhye Richardson was in reserves and didn't get to play any game in the home Tests.

Bowlers given a rest

Offspinner Nathan Lyon has also been rested for the rest of the BBL season. Lyon had a light workload in the recent Test series against India and didn't have a big role to play. However, he will have a bigger workload in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

All the other fast bowlers like Scott Boland, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc have also been asked to rest ahead of a grueling Test tour. All these players are contracted BBL players.

Australia will announce a 16-man touring squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. The squad will initially depart to the UAE for a camp on January 19-20. This rules them out of the BBL's final stage which will be played from January 21 to 27.