BBL 2023/24: Preview of group format and schedule
BBL (Source: Twitter)
The Australian summer will be more entertaining, as the BBL 2023/24 is upon the viewers. The 13th edition of the BBL is two days away from starting and the time has come to look at the format and schedule of the tournament. The inaugural match of the season will be happening at the Gabba between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars, two formidable sides of the league.
For the 13th edition of the league, 8 teams will be taking on each other for the glory. Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes, Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers, Melbourne Stars, and Melbourne Renegades will be up against each other. A total of 44 matches are set to happen in the group stage. Four teams will take part in the Knockout stage of the league.
Cricket Australia happened to come to terms with the broadcasters where it was decided to shorten the length of the tournament. As a result, 10 games were reduced in the group stage, shortening the tournament by about a week. A team will face three teams twice and four other teams only once in the tournament in the group stage. The playoffs will feature tough knockout matches.
Australian stars are the highlight of the tournament
The playoffs will have four matches. The Qualifier will be played between the top two teams of the points table. The Knockout game would be played between the teams ending the group stage in the third and fourth spots in the group stage respectively. The Challenger would be between the loser of the Qualifier and the winner of the Knockout game. The Final will be played on the 24th of January. The tournament will be played for about 48 days.
The tournament would unfortunately not feature some big names like Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. The onus will be on some of the key Australian players like David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Finch, and Nathan Lyon along with Quinton De Kock to entertain the crowd.
