Cricket

The Big Bash League (BBL) is set to return for its 2024-25 season, with the schedule released on Friday. The season will commence on December 15 with the Perth Scorchers hosting the Melbourne Stars at Optus Stadium. The final will be played on January 27, which is a public holiday in Australia.BBL officials are hopeful that Australia's Test players will be able to feature in the latter stages of the regular season in January. However, availability will depend on workloads after the five-Test series against India. Players involved in the subsequent two-Test tour of Sri Lanka will not be available for the BBL finals, which run from January 21-27.The BBL has introduced a new mechanism that allows clubs to sign Australia-contracted players outside of their 18-player squad. This option was taken up by Pat Cummins (Sydney Thunder) and Mitchell Starc (Sydney Sixers) last season, although neither player featured for their clubs.Last season, several Australian Test players made brief appearances in the BBL between the Pakistan and West Indies series. Steven Smith played twice for Sydney Sixers, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne twice for Brisbane Heat, and Alex Carey once for Adelaide Strikers.The overseas player draft is expected to take place in early September, with clubs now able to sign players before the draft on a multi-year deal.The Perth Scorchers will host the opening match of the season against the Melbourne Stars at Optus Stadium. The Adelaide Strikers will host their traditional fixture at Adelaide Oval on New Year's Eve against the Scorchers, while the Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers will face off on New Year's Day at Blundstone Arena.One of the major controversies last season was the abandoned game in Geelong between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers due to a damp pitch. However, GMHBA Stadium has been given another chance and will host the Renegades' first home game against the Hurricanes on December 19.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), a highly anticipated cricket tournament, is set to commence on March 22, 2024, as confirmed by league chairman Arun Dhumal. This year's edition, the 17th in the series, will be held entirely within India, despite the upcoming general elections.The schedule for the tournament is yet to be announced due to the elections, which are expected to take place in April and May. Dhumal stated that initially, only the schedule for the first 15 days will be released, with the remaining games to be decided after the election dates are announced."We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India," Dhumal told PTI.The IPL has been held entirely overseas only once, in 2009, when it was hosted in South Africa. In 2014, a portion of the tournament was held in the UAE due to the elections. However, in 2019, the IPL took place in India despite the elections.The final of the IPL is likely to be held on May 26, just before the T20 World Cup begins. India's first World Cup match will be against Ireland in New York on June 5. The tournament will start with a clash between the USA and Canada on June 1.The IPL opener will follow the tradition of being played between the previous year's finalists, with the Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans taking the field. The players' auction for the 2024 season took place in December last year, with Australian pacer Mitchell Starc becoming the most expensive player in IPL history after being bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore.The IPL is one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world, attracting millions of viewers and generating significant revenue. The tournament features some of the best cricketers from around the world, and it is known for its exciting matches and high-scoring games.