Cricket Australia, which at the start of the year commissioned an independent review into its Twenty20 league amid concerns about broadcast audiences and crowds, has long been desperate for this BBL season to pack a restorative punch.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made that goal immeasurably harder.

Repeated sledging from free-to-air broadcaster Seven, which tried to offload the BBL rights earlier this year and continues to seek a reduction in its fees, has proven another challenge.

Neither hurdle curtailed CA's unbridled optimism and agitation for change.

Plans for an international player draft were scuppered by the coronavirus but clubs are now allowed three overseas recruits, with head office splashing the cash to help fund one marquee signing per team.

The BBL has also introduced three new rules, decried as "science experiments" and "gimmicks" by legend Shane Watson.

Sydney Sixers veteran Steve O'Keefe, whose defending champions face Hobart Hurricanes in Thursday's season opener, isn't sold on the introduction of a substitute.

"CA are pulling at every string to make sure they've got that great product. Whether it's to the detriment or benefit of the game, we'll wait and see," O'Keefe told AAP.

"We are ultimately paid by TV companies to produce a top-line product. I thought the product was fine the way it was.

"Sides can now be a bit lazy (picking an XI) ... they can cover their backsides a bit with those extra players, so I'm not especially happy about that. I don't mind the roving powerplay ... another international player adds value to the comp.

"But every time you add a new rule, you tear a bit at the fabric and who knows what may occur."

O'Keefe is more ready to embrace next week's Tasmanian hub and ongoing biosecurity restrictions that are an attempt to ensure the BBL season, unlike the AFL and NRL, never stops because of COVID-19.

"It's going to be different, really new and maybe a bit of a shock to some players," the former Test tweaker said.

"And I expect there might be the occasional slip up, that's human nature.

"But you just have to crack on with it."

Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann, whose side represents one of the Sixers' greatest threats in 2020-21, coudn't agree more.

"We just have to get on with it ... it'll be a really interesting time for everyone but I see it as a plus," Lehmann said.

The socially distant era will also pose problems for a competition built on fan engagement; some players would ordinarily sign autographs and chat with supporters for more than an hour after matches.

Lehmann is bullish the BBL can still win hearts, minds and eyeballs throughout a unique season that will run until February 6.

"I'm buoyant. I like the different things they're trying," the former national coach said.

"The players are excited about it ... and they're certainly entertaining enough."

Lehmann nominated player availability, a long-running bugbear of broadcasters and clubs alike, as a key issue for the league while admitting the coronavirus has made it an even more complex conundrum.

Hotel quarantine has been hard to spruik, while Jonny Bairstow's recent Test selection and BBL withdrawal underlines how quickly things can change.

Australia's Test squad will only be available beyond January 19, when their four-match series against India ends.

But CA has cleared the calendar for white-ball stars, like Melbourne Renegades captain Aaron Finch and Melbourne Stars skipper Glenn Maxwell, to be available for the entire BBL season.

"And that's a great thing, you hope that stays as is in the future," Lehmann said.

"You want the best players playing. A lot of people have said that, you just have to try to find a way to make that work.

"That's something the IPL can do, because the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) have a lot of pull."

Perth Scorchers counterpart Adam Voges has also listed player availability as the league's main issue.

Sixers superstar Mitchell Starc, who plans on making his first BBL appearance in six years, suggested a regular window for Australia's biggest drawcards to play domestic cricket will never be feasible because "there's tour after tour".

Coupled with CA's billion-dollar TV broadcast deal, which stipulates a 59-game BBL season, it makes it incredibly hard to deliver showdowns like Steve Smith versus Pat Cummins which form part of the IPL's allure.

Maxwell is among many players to have questioned whether the BBL goes for too long.

That debate is certain to restart at some point in the next nine weeks, while Seven has already aired rumblings about the standard of play.

O'Keefe, who was part of the Sixers' outfit that won the inaugural BBL final in 2012 and has been a mainstay in the competition since, admits some of Seven's cutting critiques have been "a little bit frustrating for some players".

"Because I genuinely think the standard is about as good as it gets anywhere in the world, rivalling the IPL," the former Test tweaker said.

"You look at every team and any player, one through to 11, can win a match on their day."

Australian Associated Press