Just did it: Big Bash lands Nike for new kit deal

The Big Bash will have a new look for the 2021-22 summer with Nike, one of the world's most recognisable brands, signing up to be the competition's official apparel partner.

Nike, famous for its footwear and instantly recognisable Swoosh logo, will design and produce the playing, training and supporter wear for all eight KFC BBL and WBBL clubs from next summer.

The new kits won't be released until October, with a range of products for supporters to be available for retail throughout the summer.

Nike, from humble beginnings as a track shoe manufacturer in the 1970s, has risen to be the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel with revenue in excess of US$32 billion.

The company previously had a long association with Indian cricket, supplying the team's kit from 2006 until last summer's tour of Australia, while Virat Kohli was one of the company's first personal endorsements, using a bat with the Nike Swoosh logo between 2008 and 2014.

In the mid 1990s, when Nike culture was at a peak in Australia, spurred by the popularity of Michael Jordan, Shane Warne took to sporting a Nike swoosh earing and had a personal endorsement with the company.

In more recent times, the company has taken a strong stance on social justice and celebrating diversity and inclusion, leveraging its standing as a cultural icon as much as a sports footwear and apparel manufacturer.

It is this aspect of the Nike partnership which has Cricket Australia's head of Big Bash, Alastair Dobson, excited.

"Today, more than ever, the world needs sport to help accelerate positive change," Dobson said.

"Over the past decade, the Big Bash leagues have connected a new generation of fans with cricket.

"As the leagues enter their second decade, this partnership with Nike looks to inspire the next generation of athletes and fans both on and off the field.

"The announcement of this partnership with Nike is a major milestone in the history of the Big Bash."

Nike's general manager for the Pacific region, Ashley Reade, said: "Cricket is part of the fabric of Australian sport and summer. With our aligned values of innovation, diversity, sustainability, and community impact, we look forward to uniting with the Big Bash team.

"In partnership we will celebrate the power of sport and inspire the next generation of athletes and fans."

While CA has landed a major partner for the WBBL and BBL, clubs are seeking more clarity about how the on-field aspects of the competition are shaping up.

While WBBL clubs have begun announcing signings for what will be the seventh season of the competition, BBL clubs remain under a contracting embargo while the league seeks to finalise plans for an international player draft this summer.

Schedules for both tournaments are expected to be announced in the next fortnight, with the WBBL to again be a standalone tournament played in October after Australia's Commonwealth Bank Series against India wraps up.

Announcements on whether the changed playing conditions introduced to the BBL last summer will continue are not expected until after the WBBL.

It remains unclear if the league will introduce a DRS, or at least a hybrid version of it, for either competition.