A Big Bash League domestic cricket game in December will underpin a week-long Australian festival in India.<\/p>\n
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as he hosted a visit by Indian PM Shri Narendra Modi in Melbourne earlier this week.<\/p>\n
The Melbourne Renegades<\/a> are to play Perth Scorchers on December 12 at Chennai\u2019s 38,000 seat MA Chidambaram Stadium as the cornerstone event of a week-long business, cultural and sports festival in India, called G\u2019Day Namaste, the leaders say.<\/p>\n In a statement, Cricket Australia\u2019s general manager for the league, Alistair Dobson, says the Big Bash\u2019s<\/a> popularity in India is underestimated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hugely excited by the opportunity. We expect the match will be the most-watched game in Australian domestic league history for any sport,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He says the TV audience in India for Big Bash matches last summer was 50% higher than for that of the Ashes tests.<\/p>\n \u201cOur sport has such an authentic connection in India,\u201d Dobson says.<\/p>\n MORE THAN A BIG CRICKET BASH<\/p>\n Albanese says the role of sport between the two countries is recognised.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognise that in both our countries sport is a serious business as well,\u201d Albanese said at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday (July 10).<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why PM Modi and I are here to launch a roadmap for sport collaboration between Australia and India to strengthen our longstanding partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n Modi says he was \u201cextremely delighted\u201d that a Big Bash League match will be held in Chennai.<\/p>\n \u201cFor any sporting league, staging an event in Albanese says: \u201cAustralia and India are united by our love and passion for sport.<\/p>\n \u201cThis sports roadmap will focus on practical priority areas such as capability building, technology and research to strengthen this cornerstone of our bilateral relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
India guarantees tremendous reach and viewership.\u201d<\/p>\n