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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked its FTP members to prepare a calendar with adequate space for overseas tours, especially in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations. The India National Cricket Team calendar for the 2027-31 cycle is expected to comprise multiple series against the leading cricketing nations.
The FTP (Future Tours Programme) for the mentioned cycle has yet to be prepared; in the meantime, the board has outlined its demands to its FTP members. According to a Cricbuzz report, an FTP workshop is scheduled for September 22 and 23 in Dubai.
BCCI's eye on FTP 2027-29 cycle
Alongside the BCCI, operations teams from all the boards are expected to be invited to join the workshop. Through communications, boards across the world will craft their respective tour plans for the next four years.
After the recently held review meeting of the Men in Blue, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told the media about their plans. Nowadays, cricketers are experiencing a hectic schedule, which often forces the board to manage the players' workload heavily.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia explains their plans for the next few years
Saikia, in his statement, mentioned that the next FTP will be prepared in such a way that cricketers can get enough time to take some rest and, additionally, to fetch good results against the SENA countries, the board is hoping to arrange friendlies ahead of the main series.
The concept of arranging friendlies came after India's poor performance against Ireland and England during their UK tour this year.
"The challenge we are facing is that there are too many matches in the year, and that is why, in the next FTP, we will do certain things and take certain measures,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said after the review meeting of the Indian team.
“We have instructed our FTP people, who will be meeting very soon at various international forums, that our FTP should be scheduled in such a way that there is proper rest for the players, as well as some kind of acclimatisation or friendly matches before any major series in SENA countries.”
Team India to play multiple top tournaments in FTP 2027-29
The matches against the SENA nations, and friendlies ahead of major series, will have to be arranged between the gaps of the other ICC events, multinational tournaments, and other bilateral series. Between 2027 and 2031, the Men in Blue will have taken part in multiple flagship events, including the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup.
The next ICC T20 World Cup will be in 2028 in Australia and New Zealand. Then, in the following years, in 2029, there will Champions Trophy in India. 2030 will witness the T20 World Cup in England, Scotland and Ireland. In 2031, India and Bangladesh are scheduled to jointly host the ODI World Cup.
Among these white-ball tournaments, there will be home and away Test matches, which will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC). The Men in Blue will play Afghanistan in the upcoming series, followed by hosting West Indies in September 2026.
