The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a packed 2023-24 home season for the Indian cricket team. The period will see the senior men’s team play 16 international matches, comprising five Tests, three ODIs and 8 T20Is. The venues which didn’t get the 2023 World Cup fixtures were preferred for the bilateral fixtures “as per the BCCI venue rotation policy”.
“BCCI’s Tours, Fixtures and Technical Committee comprising Mr Amitabh Vijayvargiya, Mr Jayendra Sahgal and Mr Hari Narayan Pujari confirmed the venues allocated as per the BCCI venue rotation policy,” read a BCCI media advisory.
Venues like Mohali and Indore, which didn’t get a single World Cup game, will host two limited-overs fixture each in the season and centres like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Lucknow, which are hosting plenty of World Cup games, were not considered.
After the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in August-September, Team India will lock horns with Australia in a three-ODI series from September 22 and then shift focus to the 50-over World Cup in October-November. After the World Cup, India will play as many as 8 T20Is – five vs Australia and three vs Afghanistan – to prepare for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June-July.
Afghanistan T20I, not ODI, series confirmed
In another landmark announcement, the dates for Afghanistan’s tour of India were also confirmed and the side will now play three T20Is in January 2024 during their maiden white-ball bilateral tour of India. Instead of the originally scheduled ODIs, the two sides will now lock horns in the shortest format. With the T20 World Cup ahead, it makes sense to play more T20Is than 50-over games.
“The start of the new year will see Afghanistan arriving in India for their maiden white-ball bilateral tour. The three-match T20I series will take place in Mohali and Indore, with the final to be held in Bengaluru, the venue where Afghanistan played their first-ever Test match,” added the BCCI advisory.
India were originally scheduled to play three ODIs vs Afghanistan before the tour of West Indies but the bilateral media rights contract with Disney Star ended in March and the Indian cricket board was without a partner after that. There were speculations of a stop-gap arrangement for the Afghanistan series but it didn’t materialise and the BCCI is now likely to finalise a deal before the home series against Australia in September.
Dharamsala gets England Test
The fifth Test between India and England from March 7, 2024 will take place at the picturesque venue in Dharamsala. The stadium was allotted the third Border Gavaskar Trophy Test between India and Australia this year but the outfield wasn’t ready in time for the fixture. The fixture was then moved to Indore.
“Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully,” a BCCI release had stated.
The stadium had undergone massive construction and upgrades last year and the relaid outfield will be put to test during the 50-over World Cup. Dharamsala hosted some IPL games this season too and will now five World Cup matches, including the India-New Zealand fixture on October 2022.
Australia tour of India – 3 ODIs
1st ODI – Mohali – September 22, 2023
2nd ODI – Indore- September 24, 2023
1st ODI – Rajkot – September 27, 2023
Australia tour of India – 5 T20Is
1st T20I – Vizag – November 23, 2023
2nd T20I – Trivandrum- November 26, 2023
3rd T20I – Guwahati – November 28, 2023
4th T20I – Nagpur – December 1, 2023
5th T20I – Hyderabad – December 03, 2023
Afghanistan tour of India – 3 T20Is
1st T20I – Mohali – January 11, 2024
2nd T20I – Indore – January 14, 2024
3rd T20I – Bengaluru- January 17, 2024
England tour of India – 5 Tests
1st Test – Hyderabad – January 25 – January 29, 2024
2nd Test – Vizag – February 02 – February 06, 2024
3rd Test – Rajkot – February 15 – February 19, 2024
4th Test – Ranchi – February 23 – February 27, 2024
5th Test – Dharamsala – March 07 – March 11, 2024
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