AMEY KULKARNI looks at the key topics ahead of the 12th edition of Australia's premier men's T20 competition
The Big Bash League faces one of its greatest challenges after having the CSA T20 league and ILT20 league move into their window in the year.
Early evidence of an impact has come during the recruitment of overseas stars, with fees being paid elsewhere meaning the BBL is slipping down the pecking order.
While No.1 draft pick Liam Livingstone has withdrawn altogether, those splitting their commitments include Rashid Khan, Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Akeal Hosein, Colin Munro, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw, James Vince and Trent Boult.
The major boost for Cricket Australia comes in the number of homegrown internationals they have convinced to appear. While Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood continue to swerve the competition, there will be outings for Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon.
But it remains to be seen what impact that has on public interest.
Russell has crossed Melbourne to join the Renegades (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for Cricket Australia)
Expansions, rule and format changes in recent years have failed to bring in a consistent TV audience with the average viewership sinking to 630,000 during the 2021/22 campaign.
As if the calendar clash with two rival T20 leagues isn't enough, this year’s BBL is also suffering from injuries to prominent names.
The defending champions Perth Scorchers are missing star players Mitch Marsh and Phil Salt. Aussie Marsh has undergone surgery on his left ankle, while Salt suffered a left shoulder injury during the third one-day international against Australia.
Scorchers have roped in South African Faf du Plessis, who will be available for the first seven matches before returning home. Nevertheless, the holders have a formidable lineup, with Andrew Tye, Tymal Mills, Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendroff leading the attack.
Joe Clarke is back at Melbourne Stars (Mike Owen/Getty Images)
Renegades have consistently finished bottom of the table since their title triumph in the 2018-19 season. Handed the first pick in the inaugural overseas draft, they had an early opportunity to make ground on their rivals. Picking Livingstone looks like a shrewd move, but his withdrawal after being picked by England for the Pakistan Test series left them scrambling around for alternatives.
They've tried to compensate by bringing in Andre Russell, who will be available for the first four games, while New Zealander Martin Guptill comes in for the remaining fixtures.
Melbourne Stars have finished seventh and sixth in the past two seasons after finishing as runners-up in 2019-20. Their progress has been hindered by the loss of Glenn Maxwell to a freak accident that left him with a broken leg. Adam Zampa will captain the group, supported by Marcus Stoinis, but without their talismanic allrounder their title hopes have taken a large blow.
Sydney Sixers, one of the most consistent teams in the last few years, will be strongly-fancied again and apart from Chris Jordan, no other player is expected to leave at the halfway mark.
City rivals Thunder have lost David Willey while Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw are departing mid-way through the campaign.
Adam Hose hit 557 runs for the Bears in last summer's T20 Blast (David Rogers/Getty Images)
A similar fate will befall Brisbane Heat with Sam Billings and Colin Munro due to depart, while Chris Lynn and Rashid Khan are heading for the SA T20 and ILT20, respectively, from Adelaide Strikers.
Hobart Hurricanes will be content having drafted in Zak Crawley and Jimmy Neesham as overseas replacements, with Faheem Ashraf and Asif Ali leading the contingent from Pakistan.
The BBL will have DRS for the 2022/23 campaign after the closure of state and international borders due to Covid-19 meant the technology wasn't available last season.
An innings clock is now in place, giving sides 79 to bowl their allocation of 20 overs. Failure to do so will see a fielder force to move into the inner circle.
Steve Smith returns to the BBL with Sydney Sixers (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The other significant changes include the scrapping of the Bash Boost, which awarded sides ahead after 10 overs an extra point, and X-factor substitutions.
However, the Power Surge, which allows two overs over powerplay fielding restrictions to be deployed whenever the batting team wishes from the 11th over, remains in place.
English cricket's dominance of men's white-ball cricket has rubbed off on many franchise teams, with players from the international and county game regularly appearing in competitions around the world.
Some of the stand-out players include Birmingham Bears' Sam Hain and Worcestershire-bound Adam Hose, as well as Ross Whiteley of Hampshire, are set for their first BBL spells while Joe Clarke is heading back to Australia after being re-signed by Melbourne Stars.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman is back in the BBL, but this time with Renegades (Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Another surprising addition to the BBL this season has been Crawley enlisted as a replacement for Shadab Khan at Brisbane Heat. Currently, with the England Test team in Pakistan, this will be his first overseas franchise exposure.
The improvement of Afghanistan has coincided with the increased number of players featuring in franchise tournaments and the BBL has been central to showcasing that talent base.
This year sees four players appear including Rashid Khan - the leading overseas wicket-taker in the competition - Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Izharulhaq Naveed, and Fazalhaq Farooqi. Though three of the players are heading to the SA T20 and ILT20 League in January, 19-year-old spinner Naveed will remain at Sydney Sixers for the duration.
Naveed is the next superstar off the production line. In the 10 T20 games, he has got 12 wickets at an economy rate of 6.56.
Adelaide Strikers romped to victory in the WBBL (Hanna Lassen/Getty Images for Cricket Australia)
We saw a new winner in the Women's Big Bash League this season as Adelaide Strikers beat two-time champions Sydney Sixers.
In the men’s BBL, Scorchers are the most successful team with four titles, while Sixers have a trio of crowns. Apart from Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars, each team has won the trophy on at least one occasion.
However, the last three years have had a familiar feeling about them. Sixers have made it to the final on all three occasions and won twice, while the defending champion Scorchers made it to the final twice and won once.
The introduction of the draft, Australia's Test schedule and the constant rotation of overseas players mean squad depth will be vitally impacted, adding an extra dynamic to the competition.
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