New Delhi: Internation Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the Future Tours Program for the next four years of men’s cricket. After announcing the first ever FTP for women’s cricket, ICC made an announcement for men’s cricket on August 17. The 12 Full Members of ICC will play a total of 777 international matches out of which India will play 138 bilateral matches.
ICC General Manager of Cricket, Wasim Khan said in a statement, “We are incredibly lucky to have three vibrant formats of the game, with an outstanding programme of ICC global events and strong bilateral and domestic cricket and this FTP is designed to allow all cricket to flourish.”
Teams will play a total of 173 Tests, 281 ODIs and 323 T20Is, while the Men in Blue will be participating in 38 Tests, 39 ODIs and 61 T20Is. As compared to the current FTP, there is a 22-match increase in Test cricket, while 40 more ODIs and 25 more T20Is will be played in total. Though it is good for the sport and the broadcasters, such an increase in the number of matches has led to players like Ben Stokes taking a step back from a format.
The FTP cycle from May 2023 to April 2027 will include two cycles of the ICC Men’s World Test Championship. ICC has also announced the fixtures of the upcoming Test Championships. A major highlight is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Test series between India and Australia has now been made a five-game affair as compared to a four-match series. India will now be playing a five-match Test series against the Aussies after 1991.
Men in Blue will be playing 27 ODIs before the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 in India. These ODIs include the games from the ongoing FTP cycle.
Apart from the two test Championships, the upcoming FTP cycle also features five major ICC events:
- ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 in India
- ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024, hosted by West Indies and the USA
- ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan
- ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka
- ICC Men’s World Cup 2027, hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia
The white-ball bilateral and tri-series will count for the points and rankings of teams, which will eventually decide which teams qualify for the ICC events. Similarly, the point and percentage system for the Test Championship will continue.
