The excitement is building as the 15th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) is set to kick off on Sunday, December 14. This year marks a historic moment for Australian cricket, with the BBL season opener scheduled just one day after the WBBL Final, the first time the two marquee events will run back-to-back.

As has become tradition, the season will launch at the stunning Optus Stadium, where the Perth Scorchers will host long-time rivals, the Sydney Sixers. The clash is set to begin at 1:45 pm (IST), kicking off a jam-packed summer of cricket. This year’s opening rounds feature a heavy dose of international star power. Pakistan star Babar Azam will suit up for the Sixers in the season opener.

Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi will square off as the Melbourne Renegades host the Brisbane Heat on Monday. On Tuesday, the Hobart Hurricanes will begin their title defence at Ninja Stadium. They will welcome the Sydney Thunder, aiming to start their campaign with strong momentum on home soil. Notably, for the third consecutive year, each BBL team is scheduled to play 10 matches during a 40-game regular season stretching from December 14 to January 18.

Here are all the squads:

Adelaide Strikers

Mackenzie Harvey, Travis Head, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Alex Ross, Jason Sangha, Matthew Short (c), Liam Scott, Jamie Overton, Harry Nielsen, Alex Carey, Hasan Ali, Cameron Boyce, Lloyd Pope. Henry Thorton, Luke Wood, Jordan Buckingham

Brisbane Heat

Max Bryant, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja (c), Colin Munro, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, Callum Vidler, Ollie Patterson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth, Tom Alsop, Jimmy Pierson, Shaheen Afridi, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Xavier Bartlett

Hobart Hurricanes

Jake Weatherald, Macallister Wright, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Beau Webster, Rehan Ahmed, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Ian Carlislie, Nathan Ellis (c), Riley Meredith, Billy Stanlake, Rishad Hossain, Chris Jordan

Melbourne Stars

Thomas Fraser Rogers, Hilton Cartwright, Campbell Kellaway, Glenn Maxwell, Tom Curran, Marcus Stoinis (c), Sam Harper, Joe Clarke, Scott Boland, Liam Hatcher, Hamish McKenzie, Peter Siddle, Haris Rauf, Austin Anzelark, Mark Stekeete, Mitchell Swepson

Melbourne Renegades

Josh Brown, Harry Dixon, Jake Fraser McGurk, Caleb Jewell, Hasan Khan, Fergus O Neill, Oliver Peake, Thomas Stewart Rogers, Will Sutherland (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Tim Seifert, William Salzman, Jason Behrendorff, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Lyon, Gurinder Sandhu, Callum Stow, Adam Zampa

Perth Scorchers

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

Sydney Sixers

Jack Edwards, Babar Azam, Daniel Hughes, Steve Smith, Jordan Silk, Moises Henriques (c), Hayden Kerr, Sam Curran, Josh Phillipe, Lachlan Shaw, Sean Aboott, Jafer Chohan, Joel Davis, Ben Dwarshuis, Ben Manenti, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Perry, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson

Sydney Thunder

David Warner (c), Oliver Davies, Blake Nikitaras, Sam Konstas, Chris Green, Shadab Khan, Daniel Sams, Aidan O Connor, Cameron Bancroft, Sam Billings, Matthew Gilkes, Tom Andrews, Wes Agar, Lockie Ferguson, Ryan Hadley, Tanveer Sangha, Nathan McAndrew