'Keep BCCI Happy': Australia Legend Slams CA Over Plans for BBL Opener in India
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has hit out at Cricket Australia (CA) for reportedly looking into hosting the first game of the next Big Bash League season in India. Taylor feels that a move of this nature would damage Australia's summer of Tests and demonstrate India's increasing power within world cricket.
CA are understood to be considering the concept of staging the opening fixture of the 2026-27 season of the BBL in Chennai. This fixture is thought to be planned for early or mid-December which would be relatively soon after Australia play their first test match against New Zealand national cricket team of four games.
Taylor stated that the reasoning behind holding an early BBL match was difficult to comprehend with a focus on test cricket.
On Nine's Wide World of Sports, Taylor said
"You're going to see two Big Bash teams go to India right at the time that the Australian cricket team are playing a Test series here."
Mark Taylor Raises Concerns Over Test Cricket
Taylor made it clear he would not agree with a BBL fixture scheduled throughout Australia's test summer and he felt it would undermine the value that Australia placed on test cricket.
He said:
"From a Test-watching lover, I don't like it. I believe if it happens, it will be in early to mid-December when the Test matches are due to start."
He also went on to mention the problems that might occur because of the weather conditions present at this time of the year.
He added:
"But it is also monsoon season, so it would be strange to send two sides there and have a wash out game then they have to come back."
The former Australian captain linked the problem with the rising influence of the Indian Premier League over international cricket. Many boards worldwide, he suggests, must mold their schedules to India's because of the financial interests associated with Indian cricket.
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"India is Where the Money Is"
Cricket Australia might have very little say given India is now the game's biggest power house by an enormous amount.
Taylor said:
"There are so many moving parts, but the bottom line is that India is where the money is ... it is up to CA to keep the BCCI happy."
He also expressed worry over the influence of franchise cricket on the international schedule and player availability noting that, the decision of player selection for the recently completed ODI series against the Pakistan national cricket team against Australia had already been shaped by whether each nation could make the IPL playoffs.
As per Taylor, the problem is now far greater than a single BBL match played on Indian soil as he feels international cricket schedules are being compromised by the emergence of franchise cricket, the arrival of broadcast money and commercial factors.
Despite the backlash, CA apparently considers the India venture a huge chance to gain access to the game's biggest market for the BBL but Taylor's comments are once again sparking the debate of franchise leagues being on the verge of overhauling international cricket.