MLC Owners eye potential Big Bash League Privatisation

A recent independent report by the Boston Consulting Group has advised Cricket Australia to divest its minority shares in the eight BBL clubs. Since its launch in 2011, the Big Bash League has been the centerpiece of domestic T20 cricket in the US, enjoying strong popularity during its December–January season.

The developments have drawn significant global attention, especially from IPL franchises and American tech companies. Following Washington Freedom co-owner Sanjay Govil’s show of interest, the Seattle Orcas’ owners are now closely tracking the situation as well.

Seattle Orcas co-owner Soma Somasegar said "I think the best players and the best cricket comes out of India, Australia and the U.K. Being part of an Australian league would interest many people." Washington Freedom currently have a strategic partnership with New South Wales Cricket, with San Francisco Unicorns enjoying a similar arrangement with Victoria. A large amount of the top Australian players have been part of the MLC's first three seasons.

Because the BBL's Privatisation is still far off, the Orcas are considering going down the route of the Freedom and Unicorns and partnering with an Australian Team. "We've been monitoring the partnerships of those franchises and contemplating whether we should partner with an Australian team, we are very interested in seeing what type of partnership we could find." said Somasegar.

An interesting diversion that the BBL could make is an expansion of their league to New Zealand, with Singapore and Malaysia also touted as potential locations. It comes as the MLC is set to expand into Canada with reports that Toronto will likely be one of the two new MLC franchises. "I think it's an interesting concept, an expanded BBL is no different to what we are thinking about with Canada in the MLC. If you look at most American sports leagues, there is expansion into other countries and a lot of good can come out of it."

Somasegar saw the rise of 'soccer' in the US first hand during the 80's and 90's and believes there could be close parallels to that of cricket in the States. "If you go back to the 1980's, soccer was not well understood in this country," he said. "But there has been a big rise for soccer since and I think you will see that with cricket development in the US."