Virat Kohli could ‘realistically’ play in Big Bash League after retirement

The Australian season is on as Team India is currently embroiled in a full-fledged white-ball series Down Under. The return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma single-handedly added relevance to the three-match ODI series, with fans flocking up the stadiums to watch Indian superstars for perhaps the last time in the blue of India in Australia. Kohli, in particular, carries extra fandom in this part of the world, with his character being more Australian than most Australians. Pressure brings the best out of him.

However, fascinating news has come in as far as Kohli and Cricket Australia are concerned. Well, according to CA CEO Todd Greenberg, the modern-day great has a ‘realistic’ chance of featuring in Australia’s biggest franchise tournament Big Bash League (BBL).

Virat Kohli in BBL?

BBL recently got a great boost after Ravichandran Ashwin decided to play the tournament later this year. After going unsold at the ILT20 2026 auction, Ashwin has now made himself available for the entire BBL 15 and will represent David Warner’s Sydney Thunders. Having said that, BBL still lags behind other competitions like the Hundred, SA20, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being on a different tangent altogether.

Now, if Kohli sometime gets into the BBL action, it would be groundbreaking for Australian cricket. However, the prospect is far-fetched so far. It is entirely dependent on the league’s privatisation, something that CA is planning to do in order to get in line with the competition. Private investment would allow the BBL to:

• Offer higher wages to attract the world’s best T20 players.
• Invest in grassroots cricket and infrastructure upgrades.
• Build financial reserves, targeting over $100 million in funds.

Recent examples like England’s The Hundred, where stakes in franchises raised around $2 billion, have encouraged CA to explore this route.

“In the short to medium term, I think it is realistic over time,” Greenberg said as per the West. “We’re going to keep the dialogue open. Ravichandran Ashwin coming is a really important moment for the BBL and it will highlight the strength, I think of bringing Indian players into the league.

“What that manifests over time, I think, is to be seen. Some of that will depend on whether we take private capital into the BBL which is an open conversation for us.“

For an Indian to play in overseas leagues, he should retire from the BCCI’s contract. So, Kohli in BBL might not be a near future prospect. He is currently playing one-day internationals for India, and has one eye on the ODI World Cup 2027. While he has endured a horrible bilateral series so far with two ducks, Kohli is yet to finish his chapter. His ‘Mamba mentality’ could see him life through the ODI World Cup cycle and end his illustrious career on a high. In the IPL, he is still the biggest poster boy alongside MS Dhoni. With RCB, Kohli has now also fulfilled his dream of lifting a championship.

“There is one thing the best leagues have all over the world have in every sport. They have access to the best players and the BBL should be no different to that. We should have aspirations to make sure the very best players, both here in Australia and globally, can play in the BBL.”

“That costs money because players have leverage and opportunity to play all over the world. So unashamedly we want to bring the very best players here. That’s one of the primary drivers why we would consider bringing private capital into the BBL so that we can compete on the global stage.”

As far as this year’s BBL is concerned, the tournament begins on December 14 and will run till January 25, finishing just ahead of Australia Day.

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