Babar Azam vs Shaheen Afridi clash set as BBL 15 schedule announced

The highly anticipated BBL's 15th season's fixture list has been made public, with 44 games crammed into an early evening window from December 14 to January 25, 2026.

There are nightly matches in the fixture list, with just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day having breaks.

The tournament will get underway with an intriguing clash between two of the competition's most successful franchises — the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers — in a glamour game at Perth Stadium.

The match will also see Pakistan's superstar batter Babar Azam represent the Sixers, adding a thrilling lead-up to a blockbuster season-opener.

Each club will host a home game in the first 10 days of the competition under spectator-friendly fixture scheduling.

Adding to the buzz, the summer will be electrified by Ashes fever, the historic Test series finishing in early January, and freeing marquee Australian players to participate in the BBL.

General Manager of League Alistair Dobson has termed BBL 15 "the season we've been waiting a long time for" due to the clearly defined scheduling window and strong international player availability being among key reasons for high expectations.

"Obviously anything we do around an Ashes summer is huge but to then have a good clear run of nights available from mid-December to the end of January where we can play the BBL every night is one that adds up to a pretty strong season for us," said Dobson.

With the Ashes wrapping up early in January in Sydney, Australian cricket's biggest stars such as Steve Smith, Travis Head, and others are likely to return to their BBL teams on schedule for the finals.

Dobson added, "It gives us confidence this will be as good as year as we've ever had."

The Melbourne Renegades will play their opening two matches in Geelong to allow Marvel Stadium's pitch more time to recover following problems last season.

Meanwhile, the Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes will renew rivalries on December 16 in a finals rematch.

Another highlight match will see Babar Azam's Sixers travel to the Gabba in the final week to take on the Brisbane Heat, featuring Pakistan's pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi, this season's No.1 draft pick for the BBL.

Every match in the regular season is set to impact the finals race, with all teams playing at home in the final week.

The finals will remain in the same classic four-game format, with the Qualifier commencing on January 20 and the BBL 15 Final concluding on Sunday, January 25.

A number of Australia's existing Test players, including Usman Khawaja (Heat), Nathan Lyon (Renegades), Josh Inglis (Scorchers), Steve Smith (Sixers), and Scott Boland (Stars), are already contracted to feature in the BBL season.

Clubs will also be permitted to include an additional two Cricket Australia-contracted players on a marquee supplementary list, as was the case last year when Mitchell Starc (Sixers) and Pat Cummins (Thunder) did so.

As has been the case every year, the Melbourne Stars will have one interstate home game at Canberra to play the Thunder on December 28.

A Boxing Day double header will again be the highlight, with the Stars playing the Sixers at the SCG and Scorchers vs Hurricanes at Optus Stadium in Perth.