That’s an awkward prospect for the ECB, given their current bundled deal with Sky – with a Hundred carve-out for the BBC – runs until 2028. CA, meanwhile, are about to enter the second season of a seven-year deal with Foxtel and Seven that encompasses the BBL and international cricket.

Another consideration for BCG will be the unique place of the BBL in how its matches are intertwined with the international program – no more closely than during the Boxing Day and New Year period where 10 days of Test cricket are followed by BBL games in prime time.

Other, privately-owned leagues around the world have their own exclusive window during which no other cricket is played in the host country, meaning the best homegrown talent can play a full part in the tournament.

BBL clubs would likely fetch higher prices if sold to private investors on the condition that the league is played after Test matches conclude in early January, meaning the likes of captain Pat Cummins, his deputy Travis Head, Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith would all be available.

However the BBL’s Australian broadcasters favour the current schedule for how it dominates the peak months of the summer holiday season. The BBL grew rapidly after its inception in 2011, but an expansion to 14 games per team in 2018, plus the Covid-19 pandemic, saw its crowds and value decline for some years before it bounced back with a 10-game model.

Greenberg and Baird flew to Harare this week for International Cricket Council meetings, with two-division Test cricket, the future of ODI matches and the points system for the next cycle of the World Test Championship all set to be discussed.

In parallel, talks are set to continue around a review of the international calendar by the World Cricketers Association, which has recommended the implementation of calendar windows and more socialised sharing of revenue.

There will also be talks – at least informally – about a proposed new global T20 league to be bankrolled by Saudi Arabia. None of these concepts have much chance of progressing unless India’s powerful BCCI and the new chair of the ICC, Jay Shah, can be convinced of their usefulness.

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Last month, the JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar lambasted the ICC as the “East India company of cricket” because most of its member nations were primarily concerned with taking money out of India. Broadcaster JioStar, which holds the rights to ICC events in India, was created by a merger between Disney Star and Reliance, India’s largest company.

“The best service that someone like the new chairman of the ICC can do is to ensure that he is its last chairman,” Shankar said at the Indian Express Idea Exchange. “A disproportionate share of talent comes from India. An overwhelming share of revenue comes from India. And all of it is going everywhere else.”