ICC’s Future Tours Programme(FTP) is being drawn out keeping in mind all the major T20 leagues organised by major cricket boards. In the next FTP cycle from May 2024 to June 2027, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to have a two-and-a-half-month special window in the international calendar. This will mean no International cricket will be played during this patch. Meaning, all international cricketers will be readily available for the tournament.
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, each year, the last week of March to the first week of June has been zeroed in for BCCI’s IPL. With few international matches taking place during this time frame in the next FTP cycle.
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ECB and CA too will be given the freedom to conduct their tournaments
Not just the BCCI, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have also been given space to carry out their premier T20 tournaments like The Hundreds organised by ECB and The Big Bash organised by CA. England will not be involved in any international fixture for three weeks from July to August each year. This window will reportedly be used for The Hundred. The ECB wants all its top international stars available for the marquee tournament. Moreover, CA has already stated that they want January free of any international commitments. Making all the leading Australian players can feature in the Big Bash League.
While the report suggests that no international matches will be scheduled during the IPL window, it won’t be the case with The Hundred and BBL. Besides, other major cricket boards including Cricket West Indies’ Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s BPL and Cricket South Africa have also managed to accommodate their respective T20 leagues in the next FTP cycle.
Pakistan’s irrational demand
With IPL given a special window, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is finding it hard to swallow this pill. With PCB chairman Ramiz Raja looking unhappy as IPL is getting an extended IPL window. Raja believes that he can’t support BCCI’s move. And will voice against the demand for a bigger IPL window during the upcoming ICC Board meeting in Birmingham from August 22. However, Pakistan players are banned from the world-class tournament after the 2008 Mumbai Attacks.
Interestingly, in ICC’s FTP PCB has reportedly asked for different windows. February-March in 2024, January-February in 2024 and December-January in 2026-27 to conduct the Pakistan Super League (PSL). This uneven demand for windows is very difficult to accommodate due to the changing dates every year. Lets see how ICC plans to satisfy everyone and make this new experiment a successful one.
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