Cricket Australia is exploring the possibility of expanding the Big Bash League (BBL) from eight teams to 10, with the idea emerging as the governing body pushes ahead with a revised model for private investment in the competition.
The expansion is not confirmed, with discussions still at an early stage and no new markets identified yet. Instead, Cricket Australia’s immediate focus is on gaining approval for a hybrid ownership model that would allow some existing BBL franchises to be sold to private investors.
BBL expansion: What we know
- Cricket Australia is exploring the possibility of expanding the BBL from eight teams to 10.
- The expansion discussions are linked to CA’s revised private-investment model for existing franchises.
- CA’s original wholesale privatisation proposal was blocked by New South Wales and Queensland.
- Investment bank Raine Group has been appointed to assess the franchise sales process.
- Initial analysis has reportedly put BBL franchise valuations at up to A$200 million. The 10-team concept remains at an early stage, with no new markets identified yet.
Why Cricket Australia is suddenly exploring a 10-team Big Bash League
According to the latest report in The Guardian, the potential BBL expansion has emerged from the growing interest in private ownership rather than from a standalone decision to add two new teams.
Cricket Australia has been exploring ways to bring private investment into the competition and has held discussions with several owners involved in the Indian Premier League and The Hundred.
Those conversations appear to have increased CA’s confidence that existing franchise investors are interested in buying into the BBL. Raine Group’s initial analysis has reportedly indicated franchise valuations of up to A$200 million.
More private investment could provide franchises with additional financial resources, while investors with experience in global T20 cricket could bring new commercial networks and opportunities. It is against that backdrop that CA has started internally discussing whether the BBL could eventually grow from eight teams to 10.
However, the expansion remains an idea at this stage. CA has yet to decide where any potential new teams would be based.
CA’s original proposal involved a broader privatisation of the BBL franchises. However, New South Wales and Queensland combined to block that plan in April.
South Australia subsequently proposed an alternative hybrid model. Under this structure, the eight existing franchises would have the option to sell stakes rather than being forced into a league-wide sale. Cricket Australia has since made progress in gaining support for the alternative approach.
Following board approval, four of Australia’s six states would reportedly need to support the sale process. Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania are already strongly in favour of private investment.
That is significant because those states control four BBL franchises between them: Victoria operates the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades, Western Australia operates the Perth Scorchers, while Tasmania operates the Hobart Hurricanes.
The revised model would therefore allow the BBL’s ownership structure to evolve gradually rather than forcing every franchise into the same process.
Why IPL owners could be the key to the BBL’s next expansion
This is where the BBL’s potential 10-team future becomes particularly interesting. Cricket Australia’s discussions with IPL and Hundred investors suggest that the league is attracting attention from owners who already understand the commercial value of franchise cricket.
The Hundred’s recent ownership process provides an obvious example. The England and Wales Cricket Board raised almost A$1 billion through the sale of stakes in its eight franchises, with four of those franchises being bought by existing IPL owners. CA has now seen similar interest in the BBL.
The Indian connection was also highlighted by the decision to take next season’s BBL opening match between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers to Chennai.
For Cricket Australia, attracting investors with existing experience in the IPL and other major T20 leagues could provide more than just an ownership change. It could introduce new commercial relationships, international audiences and investment into the competition.
Which BBL teams could be sold before the league expands?
The Melbourne Renegades are currently one of the clearest examples of how the new model could work. Cricket Victoria has already announced plans to completely sell the Renegades licence while continuing to retain control of the Melbourne Stars. Both franchises would remain based in Melbourne.
The Renegades sale is particularly significant because Cricket Victoria is understood to be targeting the Indian market. It also highlights how the proposed model differs from CA’s original privatization plan. Rather than forcing all eight teams through the same process, individual states would have the opportunity to decide how they want to approach private investment.
Victoria could therefore become an early test of whether private ownership can successfully work within the existing Australian cricket structure. Western Australia and Tasmania have also been supportive of the private-investment proposal.
How the proposed BBL model differs from The Hundred’s franchise sale
The BBL’s proposed ownership changes would not follow the same path as The Hundred. The ECB conducted a large-scale sale process involving stakes in all eight Hundred franchises, attracting almost A$1 billion in investment.
Cricket Australia, by contrast, is not planning a mass auction. If the private-investment proposal is approved, franchises would be allowed to enter the market on a piecemeal, state-by-state basis.
That approach would allow Cricket Australia to introduce private capital without completely abandoning the existing state-based ownership structure.
It could also give CA more flexibility as it assesses investor interest in individual franchises before considering whether the overall competition is ready for expansion.
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What needs to happen before the BBL can actually become a 10-team league?
There are several steps between the current discussions and an expanded BBL. First, Cricket Australia needs approval for the revised private-investment model. It would then require the support of four of Australia’s six states to begin the sale process.
Individual franchises would subsequently need to establish valuations and attract suitable investors, while CA and the states would have to settle the governance and commercial arrangements. Only after that process is established would expansion become a realistic next step.
If the BBL eventually expands, two additional franchises could create more playing opportunities for Australian cricketers and increase the amount of commercial inventory available to the competition. But expansion would not automatically solve every challenge facing the BBL. Player availability is already complicated by Australia’s international schedule and the crowded global T20 calendar.
