Australia's prestigious 'Big Bash League' (BBL) is making its debut in India to give cricket fans a new experience. The opening match of the 16th season of BBL will be hosted by the famous MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Ticket sales for this historic match between Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers on December 12 have started from today.

The first batch of tickets have been made available on the 'District by Zomato' website for fans in India. More tickets will be released in the coming days. 'Cricket Australia Travel Office' (CATO) has also announced special international travel packages for fans coming from Australia. These include match tickets, BBL merchandise and details of a 4 or 12-day tour.

A five-member Cricket Australia (CA) delegation visited Chennai last May for the IPL 2026 match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. They watched the match along with BCCI President Mithun Manhas. 

During the visit, CA proposed to host the opening match of the BBL in Chennai, and the BCCI agreed. Meanwhile, Perth Scorchers are the defending champions, having won the BBL title for the most number of times, six times.

Speaking about this historic match, Cricket Australia Big Bash Leagues Executive General Manager Alistair Dobson said, "The real beauty of the BBL is the match played in a packed stadium. We are going to bring that experience to the Chennai fans. It will give the fans a unique experience with the destruction of the batters, the drama on the field and the world-class entertainment."

Dobson said there was huge demand for the match in India and the stadium is expected to be fully packed on December 12. He called on Australian fans to be a part of this historic moment, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The match will be broadcast in Australia by Seven Network and Fox Cricket, while Geostar will provide live coverage for millions of fans in India.