Steve Smith's chances of a BBL return are largely in the hands of Cricket Australia after the Sydney Sixers filled the last two spots on their roster with domestic players.
Smith remains unsigned for this year's tournament, with all rosters having been finalised and the Sixers announcing the re-signing of Jack and Mickey Edwards.
The 33-year-old could theoretically still feature as a replacement player, with spots to open up in the Sixers roster when overseas players leave in early January.
The Sixers have so far held back from signing replacements, but under current rules Smith could only be paid $2500 per match in that scenario.
The other remaining option is for Cricket Australia (CA) to offer Smith a contract as part of its marketing spend, with a similar option offered to David Warner to lure him back to the competition.
Smith would only be available for four regular-season matches plus up to two finals, depending on yet-to-be-finalised tour plans for India.
However he would be one of the competition's biggest drawcards, particularly in a season that is already missing Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh through injury.
The stand-in Test captain confirmed on Wednesday that his management were discussing the issue, which is believed to be being seriously considered, with CA.
AAP has been told those conversations began when Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley was in Perth last week, after the Sixers had already finalised the signatures of all 18 players on their books.
"My manager is in talks at the moment with CA," Smith said on Wednesday.
"But I'm just focusing on this week and the Test match and doing what we can to win this series 2-0.
"That's the goal; playing some good cricket and hopefully getting the result at the end of the week."
The development comes after Smith was not allowed to play in the back-end of last year's BBL tournament despite his eagerness, as he had not registered for the COVID-19 player replacement pool.
That decision was met with stern criticism from Smith, the Sixers, players, fans and broadcasters alike, and forms part of Seven's statement of claim in their ongoing court case against Cricket Australia.
Big Bash players at the Sixers and rival clubs were adamant CA should do all they can to have one of the world's top-ranked batters back in the tournament.
"I thought they might've missed a trick last year," Melbourne Renegades captain Nic Maddinson told AAP.
"Any time we can have our international players play in the Big Bash, we should be allowing them to.
"I'd love to see all the Cricket Australia Test players on a list somewhere, whether they play or not. Availability and stuff like that comes into it."
Adelaide Strikers captain and former Test paceman Peter Siddle also claimed the addition of Smith would help address the drop in crowds for the tournament.
"The fan following (Smith) has is massive," Siddle said.
"He's the greatest Australian batsman of recent times. He's someone you want back."
