After being Australia’s premier T20 franchise league for over a decade, the Big Bash League will be replaced by a new Indian Premier League-funded tournament, starting in December 2022.
The Australian Premier League (APL) will be feature 10 new teams – controlled by the existing IPL owners – with every Australian state and territory represented. The APL sides will keep the nicknames and colour schemes of the IPL franchises.
Sydney Super Kings (NSW/Chennai Super Kings)
Western Sydney Hyderabad (NSW/Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Melbourne Capitals (VIC/Delhi Capitals)
Geelong Kings (VIC/Punjab Kings)
Brisbane Knight Riders (QLD/Kolkata Knight Riders)
Darwin Challengers (NT/Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Adelaide Titans (SA/Gujarat Titans)
Hobart Super Giants (TAS/Lucknow Super Giants)
Perth Indians (WA/Mumbai Indians)
Canberra Royals (ACT/Rajasthan Royals)
The APL features 10 rounds, which each team playing each other once (and two NSW and VIC derbies) during the peak Christmas/New Year period.
The current Final Five system from the BBL will remain, with the Final on January 26/Australia Day.
To ensure the strongest possible line ups, a maximum of six Indian players will represent their equivalent APL franchise.
The advertising and marketing opportunities will lucrative, with existing IPL team sponsors also sponsoring the APL equivalent.
An anonymous Cricket Australia spokesbot is excited by the new APL. “I, for one, welcome our new Indian overlords. Let’s be honest, we f****d the BBL beyond repair, so we needed to do something. While the IPL owners pay the bills and therefore have full control of their APL franchises, and most of the games will be scheduled to suit Indian prime-time audiences, we’re happy to sit back and watch the money roll in.”
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