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An Indian Premier League game could soon be played in Australia and this year’s planned Big Bash League opener in Chennai may become an annual affair, as cricket becomes the formal platform for deepening ties between Australia and India.
In one of a raft of announcements expected on Friday by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and Cricket Australia, the Melbourne Renegades are set to host the Perth Scorchers at the 38,000 capacity M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
The game would take place on Saturday, December 12, immediately after the conclusion of play on day four of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Perth, and promises to break records as the most-watched domestic sporting fixture in Australian history.
Albanese and Modi will also meet with AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon and CA’s head of the BBL Alistair Dobson at the MCG on Friday. CA chief executive Todd Greenberg and chair Mike Baird are away at the International Cricket Council annual conference in Edinburgh.
While the BBL’s entry into India has been interpreted by some as treading on the turf of another major T20 league, commercial, trade and government links between the two countries have been enough to overcome any opposition from the IPL.
For that reason, CA is hopeful that the BBL game will become an annual event, and that reciprocal IPL games will be played in Australia, with an “open invitation” to the BCCI for cricket’s biggest T20 league to travel, according to two sources speaking anonymously about private talks.
Cricket Australia and the AFL declined to comment.
If confirmed, the game in Chennai would be the product of extensive talks between CA, the BCCI and the Australian and Indian governments over several years, in particular as part of a pivot by cricket to move from a transactional relationship around broadcast deals to something more consistent.
At the same time, there has been a strong desire within the Australian government and diplomatic corps for a regular festival to showcase relations between the two countries, akin to the “G’day USA” program that takes place annually in the United States.
By linking the event to a BBL game, organisers will also ensure that cricket diplomacy can take place every year, rather than relying on the vagaries of the international calendar to line up convenient matches, such as the 2023 Test in Ahmedabad where Modi and Albanese did a lap of the stadium in a motorised chariot.
Other events around the BBL game are expected to include conferences, film and arts festivals and business and commercial networking.
In parallel, the AFL will unveil a new strategy document around Indian engagement, with the aim of lifting participation in the game in India, and improving participation and engagement among the Indian expat population in Australia. There are no immediate prospects for an AFL game in India.
Only two male players with two Indian parents have been drafted by AFL clubs.
A leaders’ forum including AFL club leaders, players such as North Melbourne VFLW player Zoe Savarirayan, who became the first player of Indian heritage to play AFLW when she played four games with the Kangaroos in 2022, and representatives of the Indian community, was also held on Thursday evening, ahead of AFL CEO Dillon meeting Modi on Friday.
Australia’s high commissioner to India, Philip Green, spoke of the rapidly evolving nature of the two countries’ interactions earlier this year.
“When I reflect on the trajectory of the Australia-India relationship, what strikes me most is the sheer pace of change,” he said. “In Australia’s history, we have never seen such a rapid ramp-up in a major power relationship.”
The Chennai move has taken place alongside protracted talks about the possible sale of BBL clubs to private investors, although the two ventures are not linked.
The Renegades have been chosen as the first host team in part because they have home games to spare following the expiry of their deal to play at Marvel Stadium. The Perth Scorchers have a shorter commute to India from the west coast.
The IPL is compared with the NFL in terms of its multimillion-dollar media rights value per game, and American football has been played in numerous overseas markets – a game is due to be played at the MCG later this year. IPL games have been played in South Africa and the UAE.
Another strand to the Chennai game is a wish to eventually revive the T20 Champions League, which was disbanded five years after its 2008 inception due to a lack of fan interest, certainly next to the $900 million, 10-year rights deal signed by Star.
Two decades later, broadcast experts feel the Champions League will only work if there is an audience for the BBL in India, for the IPL in Australia and so on.
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