Just like all the years, Indian cricket team’s calendar is a hectic one in 2023.
In fact, India’s men's and women's teams are far ahead of their counterparts from other countries in playing the number of matches throughout the year.
In 2023, Indian men’s team will look to end the long-standing ICC trophy drought by winning the World Test Championship (WTC) Final and the ODI World Cup. The fact that India will host the 50-over World Cup will increase the tournament's significance.
On the other hand, India will need to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy at home against Australia to book a place in the WTC Final.
Earlier, the BCCI announced the 2023 home season, as per which, the Indian men’s team will kick-start the year with a white-ball series (three T20Is and three ODIs) against Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held from January 3 to January 15.
Three days after the Sri Lanka series, India will host New Zealand for the same number of white-ball games, which will conclude on February 1. After an eight-day break, India and Australia will square off in a four-Test series followed by a three-ODI series beginning March 24.
MEN'S SCHEDULE
Sri Lanka tour of India
3 January– 1st T20I, Mumbai
5 January– 2nd T20I, Pune
7 January– 1st T20I, Rajkot
10 January – 1st ODI, Guwahati
12 January – 2nd ODI, Kolkata
15 January – 3rd ODI, Thiruvananthapuram
New Zealand tour of India
18 January – 1st ODI, Hyderabad
21 January – 2nd ODI, Raipur
24 January – 3rd ODI, Indore
27 January – 1st T20I, Ranchi
29 January – 2nd T20I, Lucknow
1 February – 3rd T20I Ahmedabad
Australia tour of India
9 to 13 February – 1st Test, Nagpur
17 to 21 February – 2nd Test, Delhi
1 to 5 March – 3rd Test, Dharamsala
9 to 13 March – 4th Test, Ahmedabad
17 March – 1st ODI, Mumbai
19 March – 2nd ODI, Vishakhapatnam
22 March – 3rd ODI, Chennai
Indian Premier League 2023 (break for national side)
March to June –Dates yet to be confirmed
World Test Championship 2021-23 Final (subject to qualification) (June – Dates yet to be confirmed)
India tour of West Indies (July – August 2023 – Dates yet to be confirmed)
2 Tests (WTC 2023-25 cycle), 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is
Australia tour of India (September – Dates yet to be confirmed)
3 ODIs
ACC Asia Cup 2023 (September – Dates yet to be confirmed)
(13 ODIs overall including the final)
ICC ODI World Cup 2023 (October – Dates yet to be confirmed)
(48 ODIs overall including two semi-finals and one final)
Australia tour of India (November – Dates yet to be confirmed)
5 T20Is
India tour of South Africa
December 2023 – January 2024 – Dates yet to be confirmed
2 Tests (WTC 2023-25 cycle), 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is
WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
As far as the Indian women’s team is concerned – they will feature in a tri-series with host South Africa and the West Indies ahead of the World Cup. The series will get underway on January 19 while the final is scheduled for February 2.
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 is slated to be held in South Africa from February 10 to February 26. India will kick off their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town.
In a significant move, Indian female cricketers will get a chance to play in the Women’s IPL. The BCCI has formulated all the plans to conduct the Women’s IPL in March.
The Indian women’s team will take a three-month break before flying to Bangladesh for their final away series of the year. In June and July, India Women will take on Bangladesh in three ODIs and T20Is each.
In August, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team will take a break before hosting their first bilateral series (three ODIs and three T20Is) against South Africa in September. In October, India Women will host New Zealand Women for a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series.
The year will culminate with India Women hosting England Women in a home series that also features three T20Is and the year's only Test match.
(India Today inputs)