Australia risks being bowled out of the T20 revolution

As Cricket Australia weighs privatising the Big Bash League, a deeper question looms: has the game already moved on without them?

The national governing body for cricket is on the brink of a historic decision as negotiations to privatise the Big Bash League (BBL) continue, despite Queensland yesterday following NSW in rejecting the proposal.

The move comes in the wake of Australia’s shock early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in February, a result that reignited questions surrounding the nation’s place in cricket’s fastest-growing format. With the recommencement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last month, the timing is telling.

As the global game accelerates toward a franchise-driven, short-format future, to some observers Australia’s struggles appear less like a temporary blip and more like the consequence of a deeper structural misalignment.

‘The BBL is trying to sustain itself as a broadcast product,” ESPN cricket reporter Alex Malcom told Central News.

“However, there are concerns that if Cricket Australia don’t privatise, it will leave them as a second-tier competition.”

Australia’s cricket history has long been built on far simpler terms. The ‘gentleman’s game’ has traditionally prioritised playing Test cricket as the apex of the sport’s accomplishment. Representing one’s country in the long format remained the ultimate honour; a privilege upheld by the plethora of fans who endured spectating 30 hours of play over five consecutive days and still regarded it as the height of Australian sporting entertainment.

 

 

Since T20’s conception in 2003, the establishment of 15 international leagues has ushered in a modern era of fast-paced cricket entertainment. While the format has evolved into the sport’s dominant global product, Australia’s approach has remained anchored in its traditional hierarchy.

Australia’s sixth failure to proceed beyond the group stage in the T20 World Cup, however, has spurred not only public discussion but also governing body action. Cricket Australia (CA) is attempting to privatise BBL franchises to reap financial gains from external investors, still a fledgling idea for Australian sports but an increasingly established practice abroad. The initial deadline of mid-April set by CA for an agreement to be struck was thwarted yesterday with Queensland announcing its opposition, putting further conversations on hold.

In a statement released on Thursday, Queensland Cricket informed CA that they “will not be moving to the next phase of the sales process.”

Chief executive officer Todd Greenberg remains hopeful for future discussions to reach an agreement in favour of privatisation, articulating broader concerns that player payments are falling behind the global market.

The influence of T20 cricket has changed team loyalty to the dollar.

“Without an increase in player payments, we are at risk over time,’ he said. “That’s been one of the risks that we’ve been assessing, is can we keep pace with the global market and the global demands.”

These concerns have risen gradually in response to India’s commercial success gained from the IPL, which serves as the pinnacle of T20 franchise achievement in the modern era. Since 2007, the IPL has grown from a modest internal league to a $17.2 billion behemoth, challenging American and European sports leagues for global supremacy.

Across the sea, Australia’s cricketing population is more apathetic about the white-ball format, according to some fans, who have dubbed it ‘hit and giggle’.

Cricket tragic David Wilkins, who has been following the sport for over 50 years, after playing competitively in his youth said of the T20 format: “I wouldn’t get out of bed for it.”

“For me, it is about loyalty to the team and to your country,” he added. “But I think that the influence of T20 cricket has changed that loyalty to the dollar.”

Australia’s underperformance in the World Cup, was pilloried by the media to the point where popular cricket podcast The Grade Cricketer asked ‘Should we care?’.

Outpriced and outpaced

Whether or not CA is succumbing to commercialisation at the expense of the game’s integrity is not so simple, according to Malcolm.

“There is concern that if Cricket Australia don’t privatise, they will be forfeiting players to more established leagues with higher salaries,” he said.

“They might have already missed the boat.”

To some it boils down to the simple determinant of remuneration. The IPL offers alluring contracts to overseas players: 10 weeks of total playing time, big-name sponsorships and the promise of increased international visibility all neatly handed to players in a salary that exceeds Australia’s BBL offerings tenfold.

As it stands, the average IPL player salary sits at $1.5 million, more than triple that of its closest competitors. The BBL lags at just $120,000, placing it below four other privatised leagues.

 

“Guys are making more money from playing in the IPL than they do playing for Australia across a full calendar year,” said Malcolm.

Currently, annual revenue from BBL teams sits at around $8-12 million. With private investment, this would multiply substantively. Notwithstanding the last Ashes Test tour, CA has recently racked up cumulative losses of almost $60 million between 2022 and 2024, disclosing an $11.3 million deficit for the 2025 financial year. The belief that assets gained from the privatisation model could offset the looming financial cloud is a popular one.

“We are at the point where we believe there needs to be alternative proposals considered,” Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon has said.

The cash trail

The spread of an international cricketer’s salary is an interesting one according to data, with Indian players deriving 60 per cent of their salary from their IPL contracts, compared to 15 per cent from their national commitments.

Comparatively, Australian players on average earn 32 per cent from national contracts, while the majority (38 per cent) of their earnings are gained from overseas T20 leagues.

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins warned it is a pressing issue when speaking on the Business of Sport podcast.

“Our guys love playing test cricket,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s going to be the case forever.

“Someone else may have different priorities.”

The numbers reflect this shifting priority. Leading Australian players now earn substantially more from franchise cricket than the national system. The likes of bowling duo Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood command multimillion-dollar deals in the IPL, compared to under half that figure when combining Australian salaries.

While Cummins emphasised the current team’s commitment to the Test format, he said the financial trade off would inevitably become harder to justify.

No decision has been finalised yet, however Greenberg is said to be looking into adopting a new hybrid privatisation model. For now, the BBL will retain its normalcy, but questions remain in the air about whether some sort of privatisation model will be adopted in the near future.

Main image of Big Bash League by Werdan/Flickr.