Shorter BBL can attract overseas stars: Hales

English batter Alex Hales believes plans to shorten the Big Bash League will encourage more international players to make the trip to Australia for the annual T20 tournament.

Since the summer of 2019-20, the BBL has spanned seven weeks and 61 games, almost double the 31 played in the first iteration.

It is also significantly longer than similar T20 tournaments, the Pakistan Super League and UAE T20 League, which will play 34 games across roughly a month and can usually offer a higher rate of pay for visiting players per game.

As it stands, international recruits often play only part of the BBL before the prospect of bigger pay cheques for fewer games lures them elsewhere.

Sydney Thunder opener Hales is one such player; the Englishman has been a mainstay of the BBL for the last four summers but ships out to the UAE T20 League after Sunday's Sydney Smash with the Sydney Sixers.

"(The BBL) is just a very long tournament at the moment so it's tough for people to commit to that when they can play two tournaments in the same timeframe that are probably a bit more lucrative," Hales told AAP.

"It does feel strange leaving the tournament after nine games. It's not ideal, to be honest. 

"But with the current climate of all the tournaments, it's kind of hard not to."

Cricket Australia's new broadcast contract with Fox Sports and the Seven Network pledges to shorten the BBL to 43 games from the summer of 2024-25.

But league bosses told AAP this week that plans to cut the tournament down could be brought forward to next summer, pending agreement from broadcasters.

Hales said teammates in his T20 World Cup-winning England side had expressed desire to join him in Australia, and reducing the tournament would be the first step to bringing them out.

"Everyone wants to come and play in Australia," Hales told AAP.

"It's certainly my favourite place in the world to come and play.

"If you cut it down to five to six weeks, you'd get way more commitment from overseas players."

The BBL will welcome more Test players back in the coming days after Australian squad members Marcus Harris and Lance Morris were released from international duties to link with the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers, respectively.

Renegades batter Peter Handscomb is staying on with the Australian squad as a substitute fielder for the remainder of the last Test against South Africa.