An independent report has called for Cricket Australia to sell minority stakes in their BBL teams after English cricket reaped $2 billion from the sale of shares of teams in the Hundred.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports if the game’s bosses decide to sell off parts of teams to private bidders, it would be the most revolutionary moment in Australian cricket since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977.
Boston Consulting Group has urged CA to move on recent interest in buying into T20 teams.
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The IPL, South Africa’s SA T20 and the IL T20 in the United Arab Emirates are owned and controlled by major Indian companies, and recently attracting interest from American tech giants and private equity firms.
However, Cricket Australia owns all the BBL clubs and has opted not to sell shares in the past because private owners would prefer the league had its own window so Australian Test stars can play the whole tournament, which would disrupt the summer schedule and upset broadcasters.
Hobart Hurricanes celebrate the BBL title. Getty
The money raised from a potential sale would allow the BBL to pay more competitive salaries to the world’s best players, who have chosen to play in other tournaments ahead of the BBL because of the pay disparity.
The BBL is an outlier in terms of being entirely owned by Cricket Australia and the states.
England cricket bosses recently raised around $2 billion by selling off 49 per cent stakes in each of the eight clubs in the Hundred.
CA boss Todd Greenberg. Getty
The report states CA should hold off expanding the competition until shares in the team are sold.
It’s understood CA bosses are thinking long and hard about the idea but there’s also talk of an overhaul of the competition.
Some at CA want to relocate the Thunder and the Renegades to either Singapore and New Zealand , while Canberra has also made a concerted push for a team.
The sale would help make the BBL relevant again with tournaments in South Africa and the UAE more of a priority for players in the current environment.
