Big Bash League 2018-19: The 3 strongest teams in the fray

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Australia's premier T20 competition, the Big Bash League, is back with its eighth edition. The tournament which was earlier played under the name 'Big Bash' with six teams, underwent a radical change in 2011 which led to the birth of the BBL.

There are eight teams which fight for the elusive title every year. This time around, the fixtures in the BBL are going to be two-fold i.e. each team will play one home and one away fixture against every other team.

The tournament kicks off on 19 December, with the final scheduled for 17 February 2019.

Since Australia do not play any T20 cricket while the BBL is on, a majority of T20 specialists will be available, which further spices up the competition. Needless to say, it promises to be a cracker of a competition.

In this article, we will take a look at the three strongest BBL teams on paper in 2018-19.

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#3 Sydney Thunder

The men in lime green have had a poor track record in the BBL barring their one title win in 2015-16. However, the Sydney Thunder have the potential to turn the tables around in this edition of the BBL, as they have a very strong side on paper.

The two international signings of the Thunder are England superstars Joe Root and Jos Buttler. Chris Jordan and Anton Devcich will take over once Buttler and Root depart for the West Indies tour.

The domestic roster hasn't changed much, and under the captaincy of Shane Watson, this team looks all set to give a tough time to all the big sides in the competition.

Full squad: Shane Watson (c), Jos Buttler, Usman Khawaja, Kurtis Patterson, Joe Root, Callum Ferguson, Ryan Gibson, Jay Lenton, Jason Sangha, Arjun Nair, Fawad Ahmed, Chris Green, Pat Cummins, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Gurinder Sandhu, Chris Jordan, Anton Devcich, Sam Rainbird, Liam Hatcher.

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