Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
CA CEO: We would be ‘naive’ to not consider BBL privatisation
Nicholas Quinlan • August 9th, 2025 2:00 pm
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has spoken with SEN’s Gerard Whateley about the possibility of the Big Bash League having private money injected into it.
This comes after a report was commissioned by the governing body to look into improving the Big Bash League (BBL).
The report was then created by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and handed back to CA last week, recommending private investment/ownership into the eight BBL clubs that are run and owned by their respective state associations and Cricket Australia.
This would see the competition, which was initially set up back in 2011 to compete with leagues such as the IPL who had private investment could join the likes of SA20 and The Hundred and allow for private equity to purchase minority or majority stakes in the sides.
Speaking about why the report was done in the first place, the former Australian Cricketers' Association boss believes that Cricket Australia must consider all options to ensure the competition remains in good health.
“The report was commissioned in its original sense to look at ways at how we could optimise the Big Bash,” Greenberg stated on SEN’s Whateley.
“That includes its operating model, and there’s a question there whether private investment is something that is worth investigating further.
“And the report clearly indicates to us that it’s something we should investigate and that’s exactly what we are doing.
“These are all recommendations; nothing has been decided at this point in time. The report does tell us that the BBL is in a very healthy position.”
The money that could be generated by the sale of these stakes could be transformative for CA and state associations.
For instance, the English Cricket Board (ECB) earlier in the year sold stakes in all eight teams in The Hundred, which helped the ECB and its counties net 555 million pounds ($1.14 billion AUD) and now sees the league, which only started in 2021, valued at just under a billion pounds.
This money is now going to be reinvested through the sport, with 10% of all revenue generated going into recreational cricket in the country while the remaining money is split amongst all the counties and MCC.
Despite the amount of money that could be on offer if they go to market, there is a fear that the national body is ‘selling the farm’ and could be putting itself at risk by letting private equity/owners into the competition who could run into financial risk.
However, Greenberg rejects this sentiment, believing that CA would not be doing its due diligence to what is a big moment for the sport regardless of the outcome.
“I would measure it, saying that it is mixed,” he said.
“But I think it is mixed in the balance that people need to understand the details and impacts that any private level of investment would have.
“We need to be realists. We’ve obviously had a good look around the world and have an understanding of what other leagues around the world that have attracted global interest and private money.
“We’d be silly to think we’re no different, but we have to understand what the impacts are.
“The strategic decisions here will be equally (important) if we say no or if we say yes. They’re big moments in time for the sport.
“In my mind, it’s less about the BBL, it’s more about the future of cricket in our country and making sure we make the right decision now so that the future is bright.”
He also pointed out that if the BBL is to achieve its goal of being the second-best T20 league in the world, then it needs to generate some money to compete with the likes of the IPL and entice players to come down under with more attractive offers.
Currently, the highest a player can earn in the BBL is between $360,000-$420,000, while in the WBBL, that figure sits at $110,000.
"It's going to be very hard to chase the IPL, given the scale of cricket in India,” he noted.
“But unashamedly, we want to run a league that comes second.
“And to do that, we're going to need to make sure that player availability and player salaries are commensurate with everything else that goes on around the world.
“And there's one thing you need for that, you need money, you need investment.
“We'd be naive if we weren't asking ourselves these questions.”
Cricket Australia is now exploring these recommendations by BCG. It remains unclear when they will announce their plans for the competition.
The BBL will kick-off on the 14th of December between the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The Women’s Big Bash League begins on November 9 between the Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
