Cricket Australia have confirmed the Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League will move to a trade window concept from the end of the coming 2024/25 season.
As it stands, player movements and re-signings in the Big Bash can only take place once contract embarogoes lift at the end of the domestic summer.
Cricket Australia are trumping this move as one which will allow clubs to gain certainty over their squads earlier in the process, with a ten-day window to be available for both the women's and men's competition from the day after the grand final.
The contract embargo, instead of starting on grand final day, will now start at the commencement of the finals series, and only be lifted between then and the end of March for the ten day period which is being dubbed the player movement window.
During that time, clubs may make trades with another club, although they do not have to be reciprocal, with players able to move without their current club receiving anything in return. Players from other clubs not contracted beyond the end of the current summer may alspo be signed.
Clubs will also know (based on finishing position in the current season) whether they are due for a pick in the top four or bottom four at the player draft and can trade around that.
Teams are also bound by maximum list sizes, with WBBL clubs allowed 12 players prior to the player movement window beginning, and 10 at its completion. Those numbers are flipped around for the men's competition.
Any pre-signed international players will also count towards those limits if they are on multi-year deals.
"The introduction of Player Movement Windows immediately following the Weber WBBL|10 and KFC BBL|14 seasons will add another strategic dimension to our leagues," Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said in a statement announcing the news.
"The windows will add certainty and stability for players and clubs at a crucial period in the list management cycle.
"These new milestones on the Big Bash calendar will also increase talkability among our fans, broadcasters and the media as we grow our year-round presence."
This summer, the women's Big Bash player movement window will be between Monday December 2 and Wednesday December 11, while the men's window will commence on January 28 and conclude on February 6.
