Last Updated on 4 months ago by Charbel Coorey

The 15th season of the Big Bash League (BBL) is set to begin with a blockbuster between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers on Sunday December 14.

All eight teams have aspirations of going deep in the tournament. There is a good mix of domestic and international talent, particularly with a number of Pakistani players available.

BBL 2025/26: All the squads and possible XIs for each team

Here is a look at the squads for each team in BBL 2025/26 plus the possible XIs for their respective first matches.

Adelaide Strikers

Squad: Hasan Ali, Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Mackenzie Harvey, Travis Head, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton, Lloyd Pope, Alex Ross, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Tom Straker, Henry Thorton, Luke Wood

Adelaide Strikers possible XI for their first match against Sydney Sixers at the SCG: 1. Matt Short, 2. Chris Lynn, 3. Jason Sangha, 4. Alex Ross, 5. Harry Nielsen (wk), 6. Jamie Overton (OS), 7. Liam Scott, 8. Luke Wood (OS), 9. Hasan Ali (OS), 10. Lloyd Pope, 11. Jordan Buckingham/Henry Thornton

Travis Head and Alex Carey are on Ashes duty and won’t be available until January. Strikers may look to open with Chris Lynn and bat new recruit Jason Sangha at three. Jamie Overton, Liam Scott and Luke Wood may be tasked with finishing the innings with Hasan Ali their key overseas bowler.

Brisbane Heat

Squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tom Alsop, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Colin Munro, Michael Neser, Oli Patterson, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth, Paddy Dooley (replacement player), Spencer Johnson (ruled out)

Brisbane Heat possible XI for their first match against Melbourne Renegades at Geelong: 1. Colin Munro (OS), 2. Nathan McSweeney (c), 3. Matt Renshaw, 4. Max Bryant, 5. Lachlan Hearne/Hugh Weibgen, 6. Jimmy Pierson (wk), 7. Jack Wildermuth, 8. Xavier Bartlett, 9. Shaheen Shah Afridi (OS), 10. Paddy Dooley, 11. Liam Haskett/Oli Patterson

Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser and Marnus Labuschagne are on Ashes duty. Spencer Johnson is out of the entire season due to a back injury, as confirmed on the Brisbane Heat’s official website. Matt Kuhnemann, Callum Vidler, and Tom Alsop will miss the first game at least due to side, back and knee injuries

Shaheen Shah Afridi will be called on to play a huge role alongside Xavier Bartlett. Both can deliver the goods in the powerplay and death overs.

Hobart Hurricanes

Squad: Rehan Ahmed, Marcus Bean, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Rishad Hossain, Chris Jordan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Mac Wright

Hobart Hurricanes possible XI for their first match against Sydney Thunder at Bellerive Oval: 1. Mitchell Owen, 2. Matthew Wade (wk), 3. Ben McDermott, 4. Tim David, 5. Nikhil Chaudhary, 6. Rehan Ahmed (OS), 7. Chris Jordan (OS), 8. Rishad Hossain (OS), 9. Nathan Ellis, 10. Riley Meredith, 11. Jackson Bird

The defending champions look strong for the BBL 2025/26 season. Despite missing Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster to Ashes duty, the Hurricanes will still field a powerful batting lineup with three overseas players who can contribute.

Legspinners Rehan Ahmed (who could also bat up the order) and Rishad Hossain will be key along with the experienced pace bowlers. Mitchell Owen, who was outstanding in leading the Hurricanes to their maiden title, can also chip in with overs.

Melbourne Renegades

Squad: Jason Behrendorff, Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Brendan Doggett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Caleb Jewell, Hassan Khan, Nathan Lyon, Fergus O’Neill, Ollie Peake, Muhammad Rizwan, Tom Rogers, Gurinder Sandhu, Tim Seifert, Callum Stow, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Will Salzmann (ruled out)

Melbourne Renegades possible XI for their first match against Brisbane Heat at Geelong: 1. Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2. Josh Brown, 3. Tim Seifert (OS), 4. Muhammad Rizwan (OS, wk), 5. Caleb Jewell/Ollie Peake, 6. Hassan Khan (OS), 7. Will Sutherland (c), 8. Fergus O’Neill, 9. Andrew Tye, 10. Matthew Spoors, 11. Jason Behrendhorff

Melbourne Renegades have a host of top order options with Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Brown, Tim Seifert, Muhammad Rizwan, Harry Dixon and Caleb Jewell all capable of opening the batting. They may settle on Fraser-McGurk and Brown to open with Seifert and Rizwan to bat three and four respectively.

Hassan Khan, who has a T20 batting strike rate of 140.58, could slot in at number six. He can also contribute with his left-arm orthodox. New recruit Jason Behrendhorff rounds out an experienced Renegades bowling attack.

Nathan Lyon and Brendon Doggett are on Ashes duty. Tom Rogers will miss the start of the season due to a shoulder injury.

Melbourne Stars

Squad: Austin Anlezark, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke, Tom Curran, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Hamish McKenzie, Jon Merlo, Haris Rauf, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Swepson, Tom Whitney, Mark Steketee (ruled out)

Melbourne Stars possible XI for their first match against Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG: 1. Joe Clarke (OS), 2. Thomas Fraser Rogers/Campbell Kellaway, 3. Hilton Cartwright, 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Sam Harper (wk), 7. Tom Curran (OS), 8. Mitchell Swepson, 9. Peter Siddle, 10. Haris Rauf (OS), 11. Liam Hatcher

It will be interesting to see the make up of Melbourne Stars’ top six. Marcus Stoinis can open, but he batted in the middle order last season.

On the bowling front, Mark Steketee is out of the season due to a hamstring injury, so Peter Siddle, Haris Rauf and Liam Hatcher could lineup as the specialist quicks alongside Tom Curran. Glenn Maxwell and Stoinis can also contribute overs.

Perth Scorchers

Squad: Ashton Agar, Finn Allen, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Brody Couch, Laurie Evans, Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Bryce Jackson, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Joel Paris, David Payne, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Lance Morris (ruled out)

Perth Scorchers possible XI for their first match against Sydney Sixers at Perth: 1. Mitch Marsh, 2. Finn Allen (wk, OS), 3. Aaron Hardie, 4. Cooper Connolly, 5. Ashton Turner (c), 6. Laurie Evans (OS), 7. Nick Hobson, 8. Ashton Agar, 9. Brody Couch, 10. Joel Paris, 11. Mahli Beardman

Finn Allen returned to cricket in late November, lining up for Auckland A against Otago A. It was Allen’s first match since injuring his foot during the USA Major League Cricket season.

Despite missing Josh Inglis and Jhye Richardson to Ashes duty, the Scorchers will field a dangerous lineup. Mitch Marsh and Finn Allen can be a nightmare for opposing teams in the powerplay, with Aaron Hardis, Cooper Connolly and Ashton Turner to follow. Also, Laurie Evans’ presence at six gives the Scorchers even more power.

Sydney Sixers

Squad: Sean Abbott, Babar Azam, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti, Todd Murphy, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith. Marquee supplementary list: Mitchell Starc, Local replacement player: Harjas Singh

Sydney Sixers possible XI for first match against Perth Scorchers at Perth: 1. Josh Philippe (wk), 2. Babar Azam (OS), 3. Jack Edwards, 4. Moises Henriques (c), 5. Daniel Hughes/Harjas Singh, 6. Lachlan Shaw/Joel Davies, 7. Charlie Stobo, 8. Ben Dwarshuis, 9. Hayden Kerr, 10. Todd Murphy, 11. Mitch Perry

Sydney Sixers welcome Babar Azam as their marquee signing. The star batsman could open depending on where the Sixers wish to bat Jack Edwards or Daniel Hughes. Moises Henriques will then lead what is a very experienced and long Sixers batting lineup even with key players missing for the first match.

Sam Curran is unavailable for the early part of the season due to his UAE ILT20 commitments. Jordan Silk, Kane Richardson and Sean Abbott are also not in the Sixers’ squad for their first match against the Scorchers.

Sydney Thunder

Squad: Tom Andrews, Wes Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings, Ollie Davies, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Shadab Khan, Sam Konstas, Nic Maddinson, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Aidan O’Connor, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Reece Topley, David Warner

Sydney Thunder possible XI for first match against Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive Oval: 1. Cameron Bancroft, 2. Sam Konstas, 3. Nic Maddinson, 4. Sam Billings (OS, wk), 5. Ollie Davies, 6. Shadab Khan (OS), 7. Daniel Sams, 8. Chris Green, 9. Nathan McAndrew, 10. Reece Topley (OS), 11. Wes Agar

David Warner will miss the Thunder’s opening game of the season. As reported by CODE Sports, Warner suffered a freak side injury playing with his children. “It’s understood the Australian great and star of last year’s tournament suffered a right side injury after chasing his kids around on the sand a few days ago,” read the report.

Reece Topley is available for the first half of the tournament. Lockie Ferguson will then replace him when he returns from his ILT20 commitments.

In terms of the Thunder XI for their opener in Hobart, there may be no room for Tanveer Sangha with Shadan Khan and Chris Green providing the spin. Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Reece Topley and West Agar gives the Thunder more seam options on a ground where they struggled badly in last year’s BBL final.