No India vs Pakistan Bilateral Series To Take Place In 2023-2027 Cycle

India National Cricket Team and Pakistan National Cricket Team will not lock horns with each other in any bilateral cricket series in the 2023-2027 cycle, as per reports.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently sent the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the 2023-2027 cycle to all state associations. In the FTP for the 2023-27 cycle, BCCI did not mention any bilateral series between India and Pakistan and those columns were kept blank.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can’t take any decision on bilateral cricket series involving India and Pakistan until they get a nod from the Government of India because of the strained political relations between the two countries.

Although India will not be playing a bilateral series against Pakistan, they will play a significant amount of bilateral games across all three formats in the 2023-27 cycle. The Men In Blue are set to play 141 matches in the next cycle, which is slightly less than the ongoing cycle that includes 163 games.

Notably, the number of matches has been reduced in the 2023-27 cycle because of the ICC events taking place every year and the Indian Premier League (IPL) getting an extended window. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah asserted that the quality of content has been improved in the 2023-27 cycle.

“However, the number of home Test matches has gone up along with an optimum mix of quality opponents across all three international formats. A regular IPL season along with a fixed home season also allows for ideal preparation against quality opponents in the right format going into ICC events.”

India To Frequently Play Against Australia, England In 2023-27 Cycle

India National Cricket Team are scheduled to play frequently against Australia National Cricket Team and England National Cricket Team in the 2023-27 cycle.

“India will be playing five-match Test series against both England and Australia on a home-and-away basis every two years i.e. one home series every four years. In addition, there will also be standalone tours (home and away) of 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Thus, India will play 5 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is in the cycle (Home and Away) against Australia as well as England comprising one annual series (either red ball or white ball) every year in this cycle.”

The Men In Blue will also play a five-match T20I at home against New Zealand National Cricket Team and West Indies National Cricket Team as it has been observed that the games involving these teams garner great fan interest.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has shared three key pointers that have been the base for finalising the Future Tours Programme (FTP).

“Content, including balance across international format; Quality of opponents across formats, both home and away; Regular Home Season and Fixed annual IPL windows.”

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be the 13th edition of the Men’s Cricket World Cup, is scheduled to be hosted by India in October-November. This will be the first time the competition is held entirely in India.

According to the rules made by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the host country of the marquee tournament must get a tax exemption from its government, but India has no rule in place for granting full exemption and hence the BCCI would need to deliver a tax exemption or a tax solution to the ICC for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently involved in discussions with the Government of India and is hoping to sort out the tax exemption issue.

The BCCI informed its members, “The ICC has now received a 20% (excluding surcharges) tax order for its broadcast revenue for the 2023 event from the tax authorities in India. The BCCI is currently working with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and have represented against this 20% (excluding surcharges) tax order at the very highest level and are hopeful that a 10% (excluding surcharges) tax order would be forthcoming shortly.”

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