Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 18 : Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has described the Perth Scorchers’ upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) fixture in Chennai as a “great spectacle for Indian cricket fans” and said he hopes the Indian Premier League (IPL) could one day be staged in Western Australia.
The Scorchers will face the Melbourne Renegades at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on December 12 in the opening game of the BBL Season 16. The match will be the first Big Bash League fixture to be played outside Australia.
“For the first time in history, the Big Bash League is coming to India. My team, Perth Scorchers versus Melbourne Renegades. It's a great way to showcase Australian cricket, but it's a great way to continue to grow the sport and the relationship between Western Australia, Australia, and India. It's going to be exciting; it's going to be a great spectacle for Indian cricket fans, but it's also going to be a huge tribe of Australian cricket followers that will come over to watch it,” Cook told ANI.
“I'm glad I'm not playing (jokingly). I hope there's air conditioning to watch it from. But I hear it's really trying in December, so it will be interesting to see how the game goes. We should bring the IPL to WA one day, put that on at the WACA or at our Big Perth Stadium, and you can really just also have the opportunity to celebrate Indian cricket,” Cook added.
Cook was speaking in Mumbai while attending a Western Australian showcase, where he announced a new partnership between the Perth Scorchers and the Cook Labor Government’s global State of Energy campaign.
The campaign promotes Western Australia’s strengths, industries and opportunities to international audiences. Cook was also presented with a signature Scorchers jersey at the event, which showcased the state’s investment, tourism and creative industries to international stakeholders.
The Scorchers-Renegades fixture in Chennai is expected to provide the BBL with an opportunity to reach a wider audience in India, a major cricket market. The match will also bring the Australian T20 competition to a venue familiar to Indian cricket fans through the IPL and international cricket.
Perth Scorchers head coach Adam Voges said the team would focus on preparing for the conditions at Chepauk, while drawing on the experience of players who have previously played in India.
“What we have always tried to pride ourselves on is building a balanced squad so that it can handle all types of conditions—whether that be the fast, bouncy wickets of Optus Stadium or, in this case, at Chepauk Stadium, which we're really excited to be playing at. We'll have a balance of our fast bowlers that we know are successful at home, but also our slow bowling talent, which will be really important for this game,” Voges told ANI.
“Equally, the ability of our batters to be able to adjust to the conditions in Chennai to be successful will be really important. We'll get here a few days before the game to try and adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible, speak to our players that have got experience—whether that be through the IPL or playing here for the Australian team—and just make sure that we understand what the conditions are going to give us and that we can adapt as quickly as possible with each other,” he added.
The Scorchers will arrive in Chennai a few days before the fixture to acclimatise and assess the conditions. Voges said the team’s balance would be important, with both pace and spin expected to have roles to play, while batters would need to adjust to the surface.
Perth enters the new season as the most successful franchise in BBL history, with six titles. Their opening match against the Renegades will be a landmark occasion for the competition, with the league taking one of its fixtures beyond Australian shores for the first time.
The announcement came during a trade mission to India and Vietnam, aimed at positioning Western Australia as a long-term partner in the energy transition, strengthening direct aviation and tourism links, promoting the state’s primary industries and expanding skills and training pathways.
The mission is also intended to support local employment and deepen economic ties with international partners. The Scorchers’ Chennai fixture forms part of the broader effort to showcase Western Australia to Indian audiences, while building sporting and cultural connections between the two countries.
The BBL Season 16 begins on December 12, with the Scorchers-Renegades match at Chepauk set to open the campaign.