BCCI secretary Jay Shah, on Friday, April 14, 2023, confirmed that the India will host Afghanistan for three ODIs in June as preparation for the World Cup later this year.

The Afghanistan series, is not included in the Future Tours Programme, but will give India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid additional opportunities to try out new combinations ahead of the World Cup, likely to begin from October 5.

The series is likely to start on June 16, five days after the scheduled conclusion of India’s World Test Championship final versus Australia. The series will also result in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) roping in an interim broadcaster.

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“The Media Rights tender will be released as per schedule this year (June-July) and will depend on the Afghanistan tour, but more likely the process will start from the Australia series (in September). The Board will speak to all stakeholders concerned and will come up with an interim decision (for broadcaster),” Jay Shah was quoted by Sportstar.

It remains to be seen which broadcaster comes on board as the agreement between the BCCI and Star India having expired at the end of March.

Another big announcement that came from Jay Shah was that the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played on home and away format from next edition onwards in 2024. After huge success of the inaugural edition of the tournament in March this year, BCCI plans big things for the WPL.

“We are mulling the possibility of scheduling the WPL, in the home and away format, in the Diwali window; not two seasons in a year but just a different time window. Women’s cricket now has a dedicated audience base and this number will only keep growing as we expect an encouraging turnout at the next WPL,” Shah said.