The next Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle from 2024 to 2032 might see the Indian team visit Australia twice, with the number of Tests each series also increasing from the current four to five.
India won the last two Test tours down under, the series of four matches each, and the triumphs will be remembered as one of their greatest.
Cricket Australia (CA) "recently informed a number of broadcasters, both domestic and international, of the fact that it had secured two full Test tours by each of India and England over the next FTP, with India's tours increased from four to five-match series," according to a report in the Age.
The complete FTP will be officially released later this month, around the time of the ICC's annual meeting in Birmingham on July 25 and 26.
The men's 50-over World Cup, which will be held in India in October and November of next year, will mark the conclusion of the current ICC FTP, which runs from 2018 to 2023.
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The latest four-match series Down Under gave the financially precarious CA a substantial lift with projected revenue of $300 million Australian dollars, proving that India has long been a huge appeal for Australian crowds.
“Seasons without Test-match visits by England or India generally mean a reduction in crowds and broadcast audiences - part of the reason why CA itself works on a multi-year financial model to balance fluctuations in the international schedule," the report in the leading Australian daily said.
When CA thanked the BCCI for their "sacrifices" to facilitate the smooth running of what turned out to be a spectacular contest at the end of the rubber, it did not come as a surprise.
In the most recent tour down under, the visitors under Virat Kohli were bundled out for just 36 in the second innings of the first Test before making one of the greatest comebacks in the history of cricket. Led by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, India defeated the hosts 2-1 while also breaching the ‘Gabba Fortress.’
(PTI INPUTS)
