As many as 2,000 tickets were sold in the first 30 minutes, prompting the release of additional tickets. The General Manager of the BBL and the Women’s Big Bash League, Alistair Dobson, was delighted. “We know the BBL is already really popular in India. I think we were really optimistic when we put tickets on sale that that would translate into some sales, but it’s certainly exceeded our expectations,” he said. Cricket Australia (CA) is targeting a sellout at a stadium that can seat 35,000 spectators.

India is known to be a cricket-mad nation, so Dobson believes that the commercial potential for the league in the country is immense. The arrival of the BBL in India could further consolidate its standing among T20 leagues and help the Australian players and franchises reach a much larger audience. “It’s a great opportunity, not just for our league but for our clubs and, importantly, for our players to come and show just how good they are in arguably the biggest market in the world.

“I think the BBL offers something slightly different. We hear from our fans in India that they really want to experience it in person, the colour, noise, and music that comes with a BBL game. It’s a combination of taking our game to Chennai, but also having the clarity to bring a BBL experience,” he said.

“We’ve certainly taken lots of advice from the locals and are really optimistic that we’ll be in good shape, but clearly you can’t predict the weather. We won’t have a reserve day. We are working through some playing conditions that might allow us to extend the playing time if required,” Dobson said. The match is scheduled to start at 2:40 PM IST, which would allow them to extend play if necessary.

Dobson also spoke about organising the WBBL in India in the future. However, he clarified that the immediate priority remains the successful organisation of the December opener. “We do believe in the WBBL, and it is, in our view, the best cricket league for women in the world. So we would be open to, in the future, the possibility of bringing a WBBL game to different parts of the world.

“Right now, our seasons don’t align in the context of double-headers, and so that’s probably not on the cards. But certainly, we also know through the WPL how popular our women’s players are in India and clearly how good they are. So, I’d never say never on that,” he said.