Explained: Why Cricket Australia is adamant on private investment into BBL and why is it facing opposition?

Cricket world is changing rapidly and while some are happily embracing the change, there is also a section that does not want the game to move in the direction in which it is currently going.

T20 cricket leagues are crowding the calendar and players are also keen to participate in these competitions because of the money involved. That leaves the international format of the game in a bit of a trouble and fans in places like England and Australia, where Test cricket still holds immense value, are not viewing this change positively.

Cracks have now appeared in Australian cricket with stakeholders not on board with Cricket Australia's (CA) plan to sell franchises in their homegrown T20 competition, the Big Bash League. CA reportedly is adamant to go ahead and engage with potential investors regarding the franchises in BBL. However, Cricket New South Wales, which has produced numerous legends from Donald Bradman to Allan Border to Steve Smith to name a few, is not on board with the plan.

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Below we take a look at why CA wants to go ahead with the privatisation of the league and why Cricket New South Wales is not happy with this.

Why CA wants to privatise BBL?

England and Wales Cricket Board got a lot of brickbats from fans for selling off franchises in The Hundred. The board did not bother much with the backlash as it brought them almost $1 billion, an amount that can transform the sport in the country.

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BBL, going on since 2011, is a highly successful competition which attracts good crowds. For a long time, BBL remained the second most popular league in the world after the Indian Premier League, whose model franchise leagues all around the cricketing world are trying to emulate.

Sydney Thunder could be one of the teams that could be sold 100%. X/ThunderBBL

However, with more and more leagues popping up with private investment, BBL is being left behind in terms of salaries and that is making big names stay away from the league with more financially lucrative options available. CA is trying to change this with strong private investment which will inject capital, boost player salaries, improve player availability, and elevate the BBL to its former glory.

However, all that glitters is not gold!

Problems with private investment

Australia is a proud cricketing nation and still remains the benchmark of cricketing glory in terms of world title victories. Cricket is a summer sport in the nation which means there is a very limited window for games to be played.

The Australian Test summer is considered to be the pinnacle of summer sports in the country, drawing huge crowd and interest. Even when the BBL is going on, the Tests are the major attraction for the Australian crowd and all the big players are also engaged in the five-day games.

However, when a private body will invest in Australia, they would want the big players to be on the ground for their franchises rather than in Test cricket. This is the biggest concern among Australian cricket fans regarding private investment.

At the same time, private investment in other leagues has shown that owners tend to change the identity of teams based on their other cricketing investments. Australian fans have developed connection with franchises in the BBL over the past 15 editions and that is why any attempt to give up on the control of these teams is being resisted.

New South Wales' objection

“In our view, it is crucial that the Australian cricket community retain control over cricket in Australia,” Cricket New South Wales chair John Knox and chief executive Lee Germon were quoted as saying by The Age.

“We believe that allowing in external investors would be to the long-term detriment of all aspects of our game, including player availability and development, talent realisation, and community programs.

“The BBL plays a significant role in the development and promotion of our game. The profits from the BBL are used by the States today to grow grassroots participation, as well as to develop high performance pathways and players.

“The Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder teams drive participation, fandom, and high-performance cricket. External owners of these teams would not be aligned to these goals. The reduction in profits retained by Cricket NSW could therefore reduce our ability to invest in grassroots, pathways and high-performance, to the detriment of New South Wales and Australian cricket now and for the long term.”