Cricket: Virat Kohli to play in 2025-26 Big Bash League?
Cricket Australia hoping for BCCI to revise restrictions
If there was any doubt around whether Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen over the last decade, those were put to rest at the 2025 Indian Premier League, where he led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden title in his 18th campaign with the franchise.
Kohli ended the competition as RCB’s leading run-scorer and third in the Orange Cap standings with 657 runs, averaging 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. He was also the team’s top scorer in the final against the Punjab Kings, scoring 43 runs off just 35 deliveries.
After winning IPL 2025, Cricket Australia revealed their desire to see the Indian superstar feature in the Big Bash League, despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) restrictions on male Indian players.
While the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur have all participated in the Women’s BBL in the past, their male counterparts are not allowed to do so owing to the BCCI’s current ruling, which prohibits Indian male cricketers from playing in T20 leagues abroad unless they are retired from all forms of cricket for the nation.
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said in a recent media interview:
"We would love to welcome some Indian players to the BBL. That would be fantastic. That's certainly some conversations that we will continue to have with the BCCI. I mean, I would love to see Virat Kohli playing in the BBL this year. That would certainly create some interest in crowds and ratings, I'm sure. But at the moment, that's not happening, but we do have our ambitions to do those types of things."
Greenberg went on to emphasise the expanding presence of Indian owners and corporations in international cricket, pointing to recent takeovers of teams in the SA20 and The Hundred, such as the Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.
What happened at the 2024-25 Big Bash League?
The 14th edition of the Big Bash League saw the Hobart Hurricanes crowned as champions after beating the Sydney Thunder by seven wickets in the final at the Ninja Stadium in Bellerive on January 27.
Batting first, the Thunder posted a defendable total of 182/7 in their 20 overs, but the Hurricanes proved too strong and chased down the target with 35 balls to spare, and for the loss of just three wickets.
Twenty-three-year-old Mitchell Owen was the standout performer in the final, smashing a sizzling 108 runs off just 42 balls, including six fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 257.14, which earned him the coveted Player of the Match award.
Hobart will aim to defend their maiden title in the 15th edition of the tournament, which is expected to get underway in December, while the 2025-26 season players draft will be held on 19 June 2025.
