A handful of BBL-contracted players will miss the start of the upcoming BBL|15 season due to thew ILT20 which commences on Tuesday this week.
Sydney Thunder’s Lockie Ferguson, Perth Scorchers’ David Payne and Sydney Sixers’ Sam Curran will all line up for the Desert Vipers.
South African wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who reportedly has signed with the Adelaide Strikers, will also play for the Gulf Giants.
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Hurricanes blaster Tim David is contracted with Sharjah Warriorz, although it’s expected he’ll exit early to join Hobart for BBL|15.
The ILT20 regular season runs from Tuesday 2 December until Sunday 28 December, with the playoffs going until Sunday 4 January.
As a result, the progress of the Vipers will be particularly relevant to when Ferguson, Payne and Curran get freed up to head to Australia to play BBL. Their final round-robin game is scheduled on Boxing Day.
Round 3 of the SuperCoach BBL season commences on Boxing Day. January 4 marks the final games of Round 5 of the SuperCoach BBL season.
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Ferguson has been injured in the lead up to the ILT20, but the Vipers this week confirmed his arrival in UAE, along with Payne and Curran on social media.
David is expected to remain in UAE for the start of ILT20 after dominating the Abu Dhabi T10 League with winners UAE Bulls.
Shamsi will link up with Adelaide after the ILT20, having last week pulled out of the SA-20 for “personal reasons”, freeing him up in January.
Left-armer Reece Topley, who has reportedly signed with the Thunder, would likely cover Ferguson early in BBL|15 before heading to the SA-20 which starts on Boxing Day and runs to January 25. He’s contracted with Joburg Super Kings, having had an affiliation with CSK in the IPL.
Some BBL contract news…@StrikersBBL: Henry Thornton and Tom Straker have signed until 2027, + Tabraiz Shamsi 🇿🇦(2026)@HeatBBL: Matt Kuhnemann (2027)@HurricanesBBL: Jackson Bird & Tim Ward (2026)@RenegadesBBL: Tom Rogers (2027)@SixersBBL: Sean Abbott (2027), Jordan Silk…
— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) November 28, 2025
