Test giants India and Australia will enಞgage in five Tests instead of four from the next cycle of the Future Tours Prog🧔ramme (FTP).
According to Cricbuzz, the proposed bilateral engagement, which is played in the form of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, will start in the 2024 season, when India are scheduled to visit Australia. Tho﷽ugh, the 2023 home series in India, which is scheduled to be played in February-March, will remain a four-Test contest.
Notably, most bilateral Test series contain a maximum of four Test matches. Though, there are some exceptions, such as The Ashes – the old-school rivalry between England and Australia that comprises five Tests. Apart from the Ashes, England and India are also involved in a five-Test series, both home and away.
Now, the Border-Gavaskar series will now follow the pattern. However, India and Australia have been involved in a five-Test series in the past. India had hosted the Aussies for five Tests in 1959, with the visitors winning 🤪the series 2-1. Then, 10 years later, both sides in 1979-80 got involved in a six-match Test battle where the Aussies won the series 3-1. After that, India toured Australia in 1991-92, where both teams played five Tests, and the hosts had won the series 4-0.
“It is a bonus for Australia, which is due to begin serious negotiations on another broadcast deal. It is believed the four Tests were worth $400m to Cricket Australia in the most recent broadcast deal – which was part of the reason the thought of the visitors going home midway through the 2020-21 season was so alarming. An extra Test match against India every four years will add significantly to broadcast revenues,” The Australian had reported recently.
