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Difficulties around international travel have forced BBL officials to push an overseas player draft back another season after the 2020-21 draw release.
A BBL overseas player draft has been pushed back another year, with uncertainty surrounding hotel quarantine forcing Cricket Australia to postpone the event.
The draw for this summer's competition was released on Wednesday, with key features including the return of finals to the January school holiday window for the first time in five years.
Australia's specialist white-ball stars will also be available for the entire competition, giving them a crucial chance for T20 cricket ahead of a home T20 World Cup.
But a plan for overseas talent to be spread across the competition via a draft mechanism has been shelved, with officials now eying off introducing the system for 2022-23.
"We really like the idea of a draft for overseas players and it's something that remains high on our priority list," BBL boss Alistair Dobson told AAP.
"But we're acknowledging there is a whole list of complexities and challenges around international travel.
"And there is a need for our clubs and players to have some certainty around the contracting landscape at the moment.
"So we made the call to park it for another season. Instead we'll work one-on-one with clubs to recruit the best overseas talent possible."
There are other challenges for this summer.
Five Tests will be played through the BBL window, forcing clashes for the last two nights of the Adelaide pink-ball Test and throughout the Perth fixture due to timezones.
But it does mean that Australia's white-ball players will be available throughout, including for the January 28 final before an ODI in Perth two days later.
Australia's lack of frontline experience in T20 cricket remains a talking point, as highlighted by the three straight losses to the far more experienced West Indies this week to kick-off the five-match contest.
While Australia's three frontline quicks along with David Warner and Steve Smith will miss the majority of the competition, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Dan Christian and others will have an uninteruped run.
The shifting of the tournament to a January finish is seen as crucial, after organisers were accused of dragging the event in recent years.
Altogether 12 double-headers will be played, as well as a triple-header to round out the regular season on January 19.
All matches are at this stage scheduled to be played in a home-and-away format rather than hubs, beginning with the Sydney Sixers hosting Melbourne Stars on December 5.
The first Sydney derby will also be played on Boxing Day at the Sydney Showgrounds, and while there is a Christmas Eve match in Hobart no game is scheduled for Christmas Day.
