‘We’d love to be part of that’: Why this Melbourne team wants to play a BBL game in India

The Melbourne Renegades and the Perth Scorchers are frontrunners to travel to Chennai for the opening Big Bash League game this summer after India’s cricket authority reportedly gave its blessing to Cricket Australia’s wish to raise the tournament’s profile in the country.

The Renegades are the team that Cricket Victoria wants to sell to private investors and are currently in negotiations with multiple venues for where they will play their home games after the expiry of their deal to play at the AFL-owned Marvel Stadium, at Docklands.

Additionally, the Melbourne Stars have already indicated that they wish to move their one flexible home game away from Canberra and back to Junction Oval, which is having new floodlights installed in time for the summer.

Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins, who will travel to India later this week alongside CA chief executive Todd Greenberg, told this masthead, “we would love to be a part of that, and we would be happy to be the home team,” while not ruling out either Melbourne side.

By giving up one of it home games, the Renegades would allow the Scorchers, who may also be put up for sale, to play in India without losing any of five precious fixtures at Perth Stadium, where they have consistently been one of the league’s highest drawing teams.

A five-person CA advancing group, including head of the BBL Alistair Dobson, was in India at the weekend and watched Chennai’s last IPL home game for the tournament at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, which famously hosted the tied Test between India and Australia 40 years ago.

They were met by the new Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Mithun Manhas, who took over from former Test all-rounder Roger Binny late last year.

According to a report in the Indian Express, CA has received “positive news” from the BCCI about the plan, which will feature a solitary game in mid-December after being scaled back from initial concepts involving multiple games and teams.

CA chair Mike Baird will meet with International Cricket Council chair Jay Shah as part of regular ICC meetings in Ahmedabad at the end of May that coincide with the IPL final, after which a formal announcement can be expected.

The idea of playing a BBL game in India, cricket’s largest market by a wide margin, has been pushed by former AFL executive Dobson alongside CA chief executive and former NRL boss Greenberg. Both the major football codes have experimented multiple times with taking games overseas, most recently for the NRL’s extravagant opening round in Las Vegas.

American sports have also done plenty of overseas evangelism: Sydney and London are among cities to have hosted Major League baseball, while Melbourne was recently anointed to have an NFL fixture at the MCG later this year.

CA's drive to get the BBL into India has followed years of frustration about the BCCI's steadfast refusal to allow contracted players to take part in overseas T20 leagues. Recently retired Indian spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was set to play for the Sydney Thunder last summer before being forced to withdraw through injury.

Talks have also progressed in parallel with a lengthy debate about plans to sell stakes in BBL clubs to private investors. After NSW and Queensland opposed the move and South Australia also raised questions, CA is currently working on a hybrid or phased approach to selling teams.

One hurdle for the venture will be Chennai’s monsoonal climate, with heavy rain typically falling in December. CA was contacted for comment.

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