Future Tours and Programmes: ICC allows longer window for IPL

India-Australia series to become five-Test affair from 2024The Indian Premier League got bigger last year with the inclusion of two new teams. Now, it's time to get longer as well. A two-and-a-half month window has been made available for the lucrative franchise league between mid-March to the beginning of June - an increase of 15 days to the existing window. The decision was announced by ICC as part of the Future Tours and Programmes (FTP) cycle from 2023-27. "The landscape around the game is continuing to evolve and we will work closely with members as we collectively adapt to that," ICC general manager of cricket Wasim Khan said. "We are committed to growing the game and giving more fans more opportunities to enjoy cricket, but are very mindful of the need to balance that ambition with the welfare of players," Khan added.

In 2025, the second half of the Pakistan Super League will clash with IPL due to the cramped schedule and it will be interesting to see how BCCI and PCB find a solution to the problem. The Indian team will play 138 bilateral international matches during this five-year phase between May 2023 to April, 2027. They will take part in 38 Tests, 39 ODIs and 61 T20Is - the rise in the number of T20s a clear indication of the direction where the game is heading. The ODI bilaterals will mostly be three-match series. Following the success of the last India-Australia series Down Under last year which went to the final session of the final day to produce a winner, it has been decided to make the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a five-Test series. While Australia's next visit to India early next year will be a four-Test series as per the previous cycle, India's next big trip Down Under in December-January, 2024-25 will