The ICC has decided to make the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a five-match Test series, saying the cricket fans of India and Australia would like to watch more Test matches.
New Delhi: The cricket rivalry between India and Australia has taken a new route. Due to the hectic schedule of every team, a five-match Test series is now a rare commodity.
The ICC has decided to make the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a five-match series, saying the cricket fans of both nations would like to watch more Test matches between the two great cricketing nations. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting welcomed the ICC’s decision.
Australia is set to play a five-match series in 2023-25 under the World Test Championship. Then the next tour will take place in the 2025–2027 cycle. Last time both sides clashed in a five-match Test series was in 1992. Australia thrashed India by 4-0 in that series.
With the exception of the 2010–11 series in India, which featured two Test matches, the Border–Gavaskar Trophy has been a four–Test match series since the India–Australia trip in 2004–05. However, each of the next two cycles of the ICC World Test Championship will feature two sets of five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, according to the revised Future Tour Programme released by the ICC.
I think it’s a fantastic initiative, and more importantly, I think all the players will really enjoy it as well, said Ponting. “I think spectators from Australia and India and probably anyone who loved the game around the world would have liked to see more Test matches between Australia and India,” Ponting said.
Overall, Australia and India will play a total of 21 and 20 longest formats of games, respectively, in the next cycle, while England will get a chance to play the most number of matches—22. In the 2023-2027 FTP cycle, the 12 ICC full members will play 777 international matches, 173 Tests, 281 ODIs, and 323 T20Is, compared to 694 in the current one.
