The BBL Messiah Deal for De Villiers Will Exceed AUD350,000
The Sydney Sixers are shaping up to be the likely destinations for AB de Villiers in the Big Bash League. This forms part of the package deal that was presented to AB de Villiers from Cricket Australia, along with its broadcasters, that could be worth a jaw-dropping AUD350,000 for a spell at the back end of the tournament during the summer.
The Cricket Australia Deal
Cricket Australia and broadcasters have recently confirmed to the clubs within the Big Bash League that they will offer financial assistance to successfully secure AB de Villiers signature before a brand-new season where the ODI men’s team will be absent for most of January in Australia. Cricket Australia’s contribution is set to be around $50,000 where they will receive marketing services in return.
The Sydney Sixers appear to be the frontrunners to receive AD de Villiers as a player for reasons over and above the broadcasting, marketing, and playing deal that can formulate for the South African cricket player and his management team.
Big Bash League Clubs
Most of the cricket clubs that form part of the Big Bash League have shown interest in signing the phenomenal cricket player from South Africa. The Adelaide Strikers would have claimed de Villiers if he was available for the entire season. The proposal from the Sydney Thunder’s was strengthened thanks to the salary cap afford to him by Shane Watson who is going to limit himself to shorter T20 international matches instead of a more demanding and extended Big Bash League schedule.
However, the Sydney Sixers have plenty of advantages that cannot be matched anywhere else. Not only will AB de Villiers have a former teammate and friend at Sydney Sixers, thanks to Morne Morkel. He is spending 6 months of the year in Sydney due to his family, but he will also be able to participate in home matches at the SCG, the stadium where he managed to score a remarkable 162 runs from only 66 balls while playing for South Africa who faced West Indies during the World Cup in 2015.
High profile signings that come equipped with financial assistance from Cricket Australia and broadcasters, including Fox Sports, have long been part of the Big Bash League history. This includes Kevin Pietersen and Shane Warne with Melbourne Stars. The recent news that the ODI team of Australia would be pressed to provide a pre-existing commitment to participate in a tour to India in January 2020 has assisted the push to secure AB de Villiers for at least a portion of the upcoming competition.
Apart from AB de Villiers joining the Sydney Sixers, other cricket stars will also join in on the action in the next few weeks. This will include Fawad Ahmed that will eventually form part of the Perth Scorchers, while Nathan Coulter-Nile, who is a paceman in West Australia, will likely join the ranks of Melbourne Stars for their 2019/20 season.