Warner to revive Big Bash career at Thunder in BBL|12

David Warner will end his nine-year Big Bash absence this summer after signing a lucrative two-year deal with the Sydney Thunder to stay in Australia as rival T20 leagues circled.

The Aussie opener is expected to be available to play in the Thunder's final five regular season matches in KFC BBL|12 following the Sydney Test against South Africa before the national side embarks on a four-Test tour of India.

The 35-year-old, who will revive his BBL career that has been dormant since December 2013, had been linked to the new cashed-up UAE T20 tournament which is set to clash with the Big Bash when it gets underway in early-January.

The deal is understood to be worth around what the top overseas players will fetch in the draft, with a significant portion of his salary set to be paid by Cricket Australia outside the Thunder's $1.9m cap.

Warner's signature, along with the inaugural BBL Draft, will add some much-needed box office appeal to the league as it looks to boost crowds following two seasons heavily impacted by the pandemic.

The left-hander is one of the world's most destructive T20 batters and is the fourth highest run-scorer in the history of the format with 10,870, but unfortunately for Australian fans most of those have come overseas.

Image Id: CC06DC6C2EEF4E35B51D0637A1CE7199 Image Caption: Warner is the IPL's third highest run-scorer of all-time // BCCI-Sportzpics

He was named player-of-the-tournament in Australia's maiden T20 World Cup triumph last year and starred for Delhi Capitals in this year's Indian Premier League with 432 runs at 48.00.

Warner played one game for the Thunder in both BBL|01 and BBL|03, along with an appearance for the Sixers in BBL|02, plundering a 102no from just 51 balls and 50 off 31 in his two matches for the Thunder.

It shapes as a return to his roots for Warner who made his name in the original Big Bash and one-day cricket for NSW before being picked for Australia prior to playing a first-class match.

Warner said his three daughters – Ivy Mae, Indi Rae and Isla Rose – had influenced his decision to return to the BBL.

"My 'girls' have told me that they'd love to watch me play at home and in the BBL," he said.

"It will be great for us to be a part of the BBL as a family, and it is something that I am really looking forward to sharing with them.

"I care deeply about the game, and I am conscious that the conditions that I enjoy as a professional cricketer have largely come from other senior players who have come before me.

"That is how the game is structured and I understand that my contribution to the future of the BBL will hopefully benefit the next generation of players long after I am retired."

Image Id: 217B6D88B4214F62A8C0316BEBAD9045 Image Caption: Warner scored the first ever BBL century // Getty

It leaves Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Cameron Green as the remaining centrally contracted players without deals for BBL|12 after batters Travis Head (Adelaide Strikers) and Marnus Labuschagne (Brisbane Heat) also inked deals this week.

Cummins and Starc have previously indicated they again intend to skip the Big Bash to prioritise their fitness amid a jam-packed international schedule where Australia will play on as many as 70 days across all three formats between August 28 and the end of March 2023.

Smith, whose push to play in last year's finals series with the Sixers was blocked by the states, is yet to commit for BBL|12, while Hazlewood last played with the club in 2019-20, which he credits as launching the revival of his T20 career.

Chris Lynn, who parted ways with the Heat in May, has also been courted by the UAE league and was this week announced as one of the marquee signings by the Adani-owned Gulf Giants team for the inaugural tournament.

Lynn is yet to apply for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the tournament and could yet feature in the BBL where he has been linked with the Adelaide Strikers if he can broker a deal with Cricket Australia.

International Cricket Council regulations requires each player to obtain an NOC from their home board if they wish to play in a foreign domestic competition.

Reports suggest up to nine overseas players may be selected per XI in the UAE league with the best talent set to take home up to A$650,000 for the tournament, making it the second-most lucrative T20 competition after the IPL.

The best foreign players in the BBL are being offered up to A$340,000 if taken as a platinum selection in this Sunday's draft, which, Warner aside, is considerably more than what the highest paid Australian players earn.

CA chief executive Nick Hockley has reportedly indicated discussions to review the BBL salary cap were already underway to help keep Australia's league competitive in an expanding global T20 marketplace.

It comes after South Africa withdrew from a three-match ODI series in Australia in mid-January to prioritise their own new domestic T20 league, which also freed up Australia's white-ball specialists to play the entire BBL season for their clubs and created a window for the nation's all-format stars like Warner to feature in the competition.

With ICC's Future Tours Programme released on Wednesday revealing Australia is scheduled to play three Tests against Pakistan in December 2023 and two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is against the West Indies in January-February 2024, it's unclear what Warner's availability will be like in the second year of his Thunder deal.

Although, Warner has previously indicated the ODI World Cup in October-November 2023, to be played in India, could be his white-ball international swansong.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss said the Thunder's group of young talented batters and leaders such as Jason Sangha, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes and Baxter Holt would benefit greatly from Warner's experience and guidance.

The Thunder hold pick No.7 in the BBL|12 Draft where they are eligible to retain Alex Hales, who would serve as an ideal recruit at the top of the order until Warner becomes available after the New Year's Test, when Hales will join Desert Vipers in the UAE league, which is the team owned by Lancer Capital who also own Manchester United.

Sydney Thunder BBL|12 squad (so far): Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner

The BBL|12 Draft will be held on Sunday, August 28 and broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo Sports following the first ODI between Australia and Zimbabwe in Townsville.

Click herefor a full list of players to have nominated for the BBL|12 Draft.

Tickets for Weber WBBL and KFC BBL games are on sale now. Get yours at cricket.com.au/big-bash