Every BBL season, international fixtures cause chaos with player availability especially the imports so Honeyball has got in early to list out the likely clashes for the season running December 5 to January 28.
Australia
International Commitments
December 8-January 18 – Ashes (five Test matches) v England in Australia
December 9-12 – Australia A v England Lions tour match
January 30-February 9 – 3 ODIs, 1 T20I v New Zealand in Australia
The Test squad will be unavailable for most of the BBL, while ODI players may be unavailable in finals, depending on Cricket Australia’s stance. In terms of the Test squad, there’s a few players on the fringe such as Matthew Wade, Michael Neser, Moises Henriques, James Pattinson, Sean Abbott and Mitch Swepson. Sheffield Shield form may dictate. The scheduled four-day Australia A tour match will likely make several BBL players unavailable early too, so that’s one to monitor.
England
Contracted BBL players: James Vince (in last ODI squad), Tom Curran (in T20 World Cup squad), Sam Billings (cover in Test squad, in ODI/T20I squad v SL), Alex Hales (not played for England since 2019), Ben Duckett (in last ODI squad), Reece Topley (in T20 World Cup squad), Joe Clarke, Harry Brook, Tom Abell, George Garton, Saqib Mahmood
Possible players: Liam Livingstone (in last T20I squad), Jason Roy (in last T20I squad), Dawid Malan (current Test squad, in last T20I squad), Phil Salt (in last ODI squad), Jonny Bairstow (current Test squad, in last T20I squad), Will Jacks (in last ODI squad), Jake Ball (in last ODI & T20I squad), Lewis Gregory (in last ODI & T20I squad), Danny Briggs (in last ODI squad), Joe Denly, Dan Lawrence (current Test squad, in last ODI squad), Benny Howell, Blake Cullen, Ravi Bopara
International Commitments
December 8-January 18 – Ashes (five Test matches) v Australia in Australia
November-December 12 – English Lions tour in Australia (tour match v Australia A Dec 9-12)
January 22-March 28 – 5 T20Is, 3 Tests v West Indies in West Indies
The Test squad will basically be unavailable for the whole BBL due to the Ashes, while T20I players will fly out late in the season (BBL regular season ends January 19) for the Caribbean for a series starting on January 22, with Tom Curran, Reece Topley, Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy to be among them.
England’s Ashes squad has been named with no BBL players impacted but Tom Abell, Harry Brook and Saqib Mahmood are in the Englions Lions squad which will force them to miss the first three BBL rounds.
Abu Dhabi T10 League
Possible players: Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Danny Briggs, Colin Ingram, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Fletcher, James Faulkner, Benny Howell, Will Jacks, Jason Roy, Rilee Rossouw, Imran Tahir
November 19-December 4
All the aforementioned players have signed deals with clubs in the T10 League, meaning with Australia’s two-week quarantine they would likely not be available until around December 19-20, which is Round 4 in SuperCoach BBL.
Lanka Premier League
Possible players: Rilee Rossouw, Chris Gayle, Fabian Allen, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Shimron Hetmyer, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Samit Patel, Adil Rashid, Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright, Mitch McClenaghan, James Faulkner
December 5-December 23
The LPL Draft is due to happen on November 9 which will determine who is actually signed up and playing. The league runs during the first fortnight of BBL.
West Indies
Contracted BBL players: Carlos Brathwaite (not played for West Indies since 2019)
Possible players: Jason Holder (in last Test & ODI squad), Nicholas Pooran (in last ODI squad v Aus & T20I squad v SA), Chris Gayle (in last T20I squad), Keemo Paul, Andre Fletcher
International Commitments
December – 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs v Pakistan in UAE/Pakistan
January 22-March 28 – 5 T20Is, 3 Tests v England in West Indies
The West Indies have a white-ball series vaguely scheduled in December against Pakistan in the Future Tour Programs. That series would likely preclude several limited-overs stars from playing the first half of BBL, including Stars BBL|10 recruit Pooran. T20I players will be due back in Barbados for a five-game series against England starting January 22 as well.
New Zealand
Contracted BBL players: None
Possible players: Adam Milne (current T20I squad), Colin Munro (not played for NZ since 2020)
International Commitments
November/December – 2 Tests, 3 T20Is v India in India
December 17-January 8 – 3 T20Is, 2 Tests v Bangladesh in New Zealand
January 30-February 9 – 3 ODIs, 1 T20I v Australia in Australia
As a southern hemisphere side, the Black Caps have a busy summer, clashing with the BBL throughout. Milne’s inclusion as cover for their T20 World Cup squad is worth noting. Scorchers BBL|10 import Munro should be available.
Pakistan
Contracted BBL players: None
Possible players: Imad Wasim (in last T20I squad), Haris Rauf (cover in last Test squad, in last T20I squad), Dilbar Hussain (never played for Pakistan), Sarfaraz Ahmed (in last Test & T20I squad), Mohammad Hafeez (in last T20I squad)
International Commitments
November 19-December 8 – 3 T20Is, 2 Tests v Bangladesh in Bangladesh
December – 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs v West Indies in UAE/Pakistan
Pakistan have confirmed their tour in Bangladesh that ends on December 8 which, with 14-day quarantine requirements, will rule any players involved out of BBL for most of the first half of the season. The white-ball series against the West Indies is in the schedule too.
South Africa
Contracted BBL players: None
Possible players: Imran Tahir, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Chris Morris, Morne Morkel, Colin Ingram
International Commitments
December/January – 3 T20Is, 3 Tests v India in South Africa
South African national team players typically don’t play BBL due to schedule clashes but there’s numerous big-name retired players who could be available to clubs led by du Plessis and Tahir who are currently participating in the Caribbean Premier League. They may also play in South Africa’s T20 Mzansi Super League but that schedule is unclear at this point. Dale Steyn recently retired from all formats.
Sri Lanka
Contracted BBL players: None
Possible players: Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews
International Commitments
December – 2 Tests v Sri Lanka in Bangladesh
Lasith Malinga’s retirement from T20 franchise cricket in January means there’s not any genuine Sri Lankan options for BBL clubs, although at this stage the national team has a clear schedule, with LPLT20 (Sri Lanka’s BBL) finishing up on December 12. Sri Lanka are also due to play Australia in five T20Is in February, so you never know, some may want to come early.
Bangladesh
Contracted BBL players: None
Possible players: Shakib Al Hasan
International Commitments
November 19-December 8 – 3 T20Is, 2 Tests v Pakistan in Bangladesh
December 17-January 8 – 3 T20Is, 2 Tests v New Zealand in New Zealand
December – 2 Tests v Sri Lanka in Bangladesh
You never quite know whether Bangladesh tours will go ahead but they have a packed schedule on paper, for now. It’s unlikely any of their players will get BBL deals anyway.
Afghanistan
Contracted BBL players: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad
Possible players: Noor Ahmed, Mohammad Nabi, Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
International Commitments
None
Afghanistan had a Test against Australia in Hobart scheduled for late November, ensuring their cohort would be in Australia before the BBL but that has been scrapped for political reasons.
Nepal
Contracted BBL players: Sandeep Lamichhane (contracted with Hobart Hurricanes)
International Commitments
None
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