New Delhi: ICC unveiled the first ever Women’s Future Tours Program (FTP). The FTP includes the list of tours and tournaments for women’s cricket starting from May 2022 to April 2025, leading up to the ICC Women’s World Cup in India. The Indian women’s team will play as many as 65 international games during this period.
On August 16, ICC announced a structured calendar for the next three years which includes a total of 301 international games- seven Tests, 135 ODIs and 159 T20Is. Out of the total of 301, India will be playing two Tests, against England and Australia, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is in these three years. As the FTP started in May 2022, India has already played 3 WODIs and 3 WT20Is against Sri Lanka.
ICC General Manager of Cricket, Wasim Khan said in a statement, “This FTP not only lends certainty to future cricket tours but also sets the base for a structure that is sure to grow in the coming years.” Certainly, it is developing and a historic step for women’s cricket. This adds to the excitement, especially after the inclusion of women’s T20Is in the Commonwealth Games 2022 held in Birmingham.
As per the calendar, India will play New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Ireland at home, while the away series will be played against Australia, England, Sri Lanka (already played) and Bangladesh. One of the series to look up to includes India’s five-match T20I series against the ‘Southern Stars’ later this year.
A total of seven Test matches will be played during this period, out of which England will play the most, five Tests, while Australia will play four, South Africa three and India will play two.
Other major ICC tournaments during this period include the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in February 2023 and the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September/October 2024. Moreover, the teams will play three-match bilateral ODI series as part of the 2022-25 ICC Women’s Championships ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in September/October 2025 in India.