New Delhi: The 11th season of the Big Bash League will commence from December 5th and the final of the tournament will be played on January 28, Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday. The opening match of the tourney will be between reigning champions Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars and it will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on 5th December.

The first 19 matches of the tournament will be played before Christmas. However, it is going to be a jam-packed schedule in the next two weeks after Christmas as 28 matches will be played including eight doubleheaders. The finalists will be decided with a tripleheader on January 19.

In fact, a total of 14 venues will be used throughout the tournament and Junction Oval, Melbourne will host a BBL match for the first time.

Furthermore, seven BBL matches will clash with the epic Ashes series. Two matches will collide with the pink-ball Test at Adelaide whereas five will coincide with the fifth Test match. On the other hand, Cricket Australia has decided to postpone the International draft by 12 months due to the Covid-19 situation.

“Some players won’t be up for it, and we totally respect that and understand that it’s been an incredible challenge,” Dobson told cricket.com.au of the quarantine requirements.

“It isn’t getting any easier and at this point, everyone needs clarity and certainty around the contracting landscape. So we’ve made the decision to postpone (the draft) for another year, with the intention of bringing it in when – fingers crossed – the landscape is clearer and we can give what we think is a great idea the best chance to be successful.”

Here is the full schedule of BBL11.