The 2026–27 Big Bash League season or BBL|16 will be the sixteenth edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). The tournament will be played from 12 December 2026, with the final held on 26 January 2027. The Perth Scorchers are the defending champions.
The opening match, set to be held at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, will mark the first time that a match will be played in a venue outside of Australia.
Background The Big Bash League is a professional men's Twenty20 cricket tournament played in Australia and organised by Cricket Australia. It was first held in 2011–12, with the 2026–27 season marking its sixteenth edition. The fifteenth edition was won by the Perth Scorchers, who defeated the Sydney Sixers in the final.
Format changes "Designated batters" will be implemented for the first time. Similar to the "X-Factor player" from 2020–21, teams will be able to nominate a player who will not be allowed to field or bowl. Over-rate penalty rules will also be changed, enforcing full powerplay restrictions on teams who breach the over-rate timer.
Teams + Team Home ground(s) Captain Head coach Adelaide Strikers Adelaide Oval Matt Short Tim Paine Brisbane Heat The Gabba James Hopes Hobart Hurricanes Bellerive Oval Nathan Ellis Jeff Vaughan York Park Melbourne Renegades Melbourne Cricket Ground Will Sutherland Luke Ronchi M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Junction Oval Melbourne Stars Melbourne Cricket Ground Marcus Stoinis Cameron White Junction Oval Perth Scorchers Perth Stadium Ashton Turner Adam Voges Sydney Sixers Sydney Cricket Ground Matthew Mott Manuka Oval Sydney Thunder Sydney Showground Stadium Andrew Flintoff Manuka Oval
Personnel changes Coaching changes Following Greg Shipperd's departure from the Sydney Sixers and Cricket NSW in January 2026, Matthew Mott was named as the coach of the team in July. Previously, James Hopes had been named head coach, but had stepped away from the position in June to work with the Brisbane Heat following the resignation of Johan Botha. Earlier that month, Andrew Flintoff was announced to have signed to the Sydney Thunder as head coach, replacing Trevor Bayliss.
Following an internal restructuring at Cricket Victoria, Cameron White switched from the Melbourne Renegades to the Melbourne Stars in July. Luke Ronchi was moved from the women's team to the men's team.
Captaincy changes Moises Henriques retired from the Big Bash League in July 2026, stepping down as the captain of the Sydney Sixers.
Squads
Each team is allowed to sign an 18-player squad, including a maximum of 12 players signed before 27 August 2026. Teams are allowed to sign additional replacement players in the instance that one of their players is unavailable. Following the removal of the International Player Draft, teams are able to sign foreign players directly.
+Squads contracted for the 2026–27 Big Bash League season Adelaide Strikers Brisbane Heat Hobart Hurricanes Melbourne Renegades Melbourne Stars Perth Scorchers Sydney Sixers Sydney Thunder Matt Short (c) Alex Carey Mark Chapman (NZL) Mackenzie Harvey Thomas Kelly Lloyd Pope Jason Sangha Liam Scott Ben Stokes (ENG) Tom Straker Henry Thornton Jerrssis Wadia Xavier Bartlett Max Bryant Tom Curran (ENG) Lachlan Hearne Spencer Johnson Usman Khawaja Matthew Kuhnemann Nathan McSweeney Michael Neser Matt Renshaw Tim Robinson (NZL) Callum Vidler Hugh Weibgen Jack Wildermuth Nathan Ellis (c) Marcus Bean Iain Carlisle Nikhil Chaudhary Tim David Nick Hobson Shai Hope (WI) Ben McDermott Riley Meredith Mitchell Owen Will Prestwidge Billy Stanlake Tim Ward Jake Weatherald Beau Webster Adam Zampa Will Sutherland (c) Michael Archer Jonny Bairstow (ENG) Jason Behrendorff Michael Bracewell (NZL) Josh Brown Harry Dixon Brendan Doggett Sam Elliott Jake Fraser-McGurk Caleb Jewell Oliver Peake Tom Rogers Callum Stow Marcus Stoinis (c) Finn Allen (NZL) Austin Anlezark Hilton Cartwright Sam Harper Liam Hatcher Campbell Kellaway Glenn Maxwell Todd Murphy Tom Rogers Peter Siddle Mitchell Swepson Ashton Turner (c) Ashton Agar Mahli Beardman Cooper Connolly Brody Couch Zak Crawley (ENG) Joel Curtis Aaron Hardie Calvin Harrison (ENG) Will Malajczuk Mitchell Marsh Lance Morris Joel Paris Jhye Richardson Sean Abbott Jack Edwards Joel Davies Oliver Davies Ben Dwarshuis Hayden Kerr Riley Kingsell Fergus O'Neill Josh Philippe Jake Scott Tim Seifert (NZL) Lachlan Shaw Jordan Silk Steve Smith Cameron Bancroft Sam Billings (ENG) Lockie Ferguson (NZL) Matthew Gilkes Chris Green Ryan Hadley Sam Konstas Aidan O'Connor Nic Maddinson Daniel Sams Tanveer Sangha David Warner
Notes Unless otherwise specified, all players are Australian.
Venues Eleven venues were selected to host the tournament. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will become the first venue outside Australia to host a Big Bash League match. Both York Park and Junction Oval will return as venues for the first time since 2023 and 2022, respectively—York Park will host the Hobart Hurricanes, and Junction Oval will host both the Melbourne Stars and the Melbourne Renegades. The Melbourne Cricket Ground will become the Renegades 'primary' home ground, with the team leaving Kardinia Park and Docklands Stadium. The Sydney Sixers will not host a match at Coffs Harbour International Stadium, instead hosting a match at Manuka Oval.
Adelaide Brisbane Perth Melbourne India Adelaide Oval The Gabba Perth Stadium Junction Oval Melbourne Cricket Ground Capacity: 53,500 Capacity: 36,000 Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 7,000 Capacity: 100,000 Hobart Launceston Sydney Canberra Chennai Bellerive Oval York Park Sydney Showground Stadium Sydney Cricket Ground Manuka Oval M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Capacity: 19,500 Capacity: 15,615 Capacity: 23,500 Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 13,500 Capacity: 39,000
Standings Points table
Match summary
League stage
Prior to the release of the full schedule, Cricket Australia confirmed the first match of the season on 10 July 2026. They later confirmed the full schedule on 14 July, which included the dates for finals matches.
Play-offs
Qualifier
Knockout
Challenger
Final
See also 2026–27 Women's Big Bash League season
References
External link