Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey

It doesn’t feel like the end of a Big Bash League (BBL) season without discussions about rule changes for the following campaign. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday 24th January, Cricket Australia officials have begun brainstorming new innovations for the 2025/26 BBL season in an attempt to encourage more stars to participate in the tournament.

One of the rule changes in discussion is a designated hitter, as seen in baseball. Here, one player in the XI will be selected only as a batsman and doesn’t have to field. Thus, teams will also need to select a specialist fielder.

According to the report, the thinking behind this is to have fans watch a batsman who is fresh as well as encourage Australia’s Test stars to play more BBL without all the running in the field.

Other BBL rule changes being discussed are bowling back-to-back overs from the same end, optional 12-ball overs, and double play. These will be outlined in further detail below.

“CA is eager for higher scores and closer games and believes there are ways to make matches quicker and improve the quality of the competition by reducing the workload on the sport’s biggest names,” read the report.

Possible BBL 2025/26 rule changes summarised

Double play run out

Two players could be dismissed in one delivery if both are out of their crease. At this stage, the proposal applies to only run outs. According to the report by Sydney Morning Herald, some officials believe it should even apply to a catch. However, this rule requires arguably the biggest buy-in from players and broadcasters.

Bowling back-to-back overs from the same end

If this rule is implemented, there will be half the number of changes of ends. The idea is to speed up the game and limit the amount of distances players need to travel between overs. According to the report, there needs to be buy-in from broadcasters given there will be fewer opportunities to show advertisements.

Optional 12-ball over by a single bowler

Here, a captain could choose to bowl one bowler across two consecutive overs. Sydney Sixers’ Jordan Silk says pace bowlers can do it but he expects it to be rare.

“They do it in the nets. It might be a rare occurrence where you’d see it happen,” said Silk, as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald.

Maidens more rewarding?

There is also the idea floated around about how to make maidens more rewarding for bowlers. There is a long way to go here, but there is an idea to give a bowler a fifth over should they bowl a maiden.

Or, even as far as a batsman being dismissed if they face a maiden over.

Initial fan reaction to possible BBL rule changes

Personally, most of these rules would interfere with the fabric of cricket too much. Fielding is an important part of the sport, and you wouldn’t want to have youngsters such as Jake Fraser-McGurk spending their time on the bench when their team is fielding. The risk is that if and when they play international cricket, their fielding may be below par.

The double play also is a step too far. The fabric of the game is one player is dismissed at a time. This rule could even arguably slow the game down even more due to the additional third umpire reviews that could need to take place.

Fans have been critical online about the possible BBL rule changes.

If organisers want the BBL to be more successful off the back of a strong 2024/25 season, scheduling is the big agenda item they need to get right. Ultimately, an overseas star is unlikely to forgo more money in the SA20 or ILT20 because of a few new rules. More double headers and strategy around when the tournament starts and ends is key in ensuring star participation.