With a crowded cricket home season ahead for India, fans will have plenty of cause for cheer. The venues for the home season 2023-24 have recently been finalised by BCCI’s Tours, Fixtures and Technical Committee. The senior men’s team will feature in 16 international matches hosted in India. These include five tests, three ODIs, and eight T20Is.
| Dates | Venue | Event | Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept 2023 | Mohali | 1st ODI | India | Australia |
| 24 Sept 2023 | Indore | 2nd ODI | India | Australia |
| 27 Sept 2023 | Rajkot | 3rd ODI | India | Australia |
| 23 Nov 2023 | Vizag | 1st T20I | India | Australia |
| 26 Nov 2023 | Trivandrum | 2nd T20I | India | Australia |
| 28 Nov 2023 | Guwahati | 3rd T20I | India | Australia |
| 1 Dec 2023 | Nagpur | 4th T20I | India | Australia |
| 3 Dec 2023 | Hyderabad | 5th T20I | India | Australia |
| 11 Jan 2024 | Mohali | 1st T20I | India | Afghanistan |
| 14 Jan 2024 | Indore | 2nd T20I | India | Afghanistan |
| 17 Jan 2024 | Bengaluru | 3rd T20I | India | Afghanistan |
| 25-29 Jan ‘24 | Hyderabad | Ist Test | India | England |
| 2-6 Feb ‘24 | Vizag | 2nd Test | India | England |
| 15-19 Feb ‘24 | Rajkot | 3rd Test | India | England |
| 23-27 Feb ‘24 | Ranchi | 4th Test | India | England |
| 7-11 Mar ‘24 | Dharamsala | 5th Test | India | England |
India vs Australia ODI Series
India and Australia are set to meet in a three-match ODI series ahead of the ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in October-November 2023. The BCCI has a rotation policy with regard to venues in India. The committee comprising Hari Narayan Pujari, Jayendra Sahgal, and Amitabh Vijayvarghia revealed that the first home match of an ODI series versus Australia would be hosted at Mohali. Indore and Rajkot have been named as the venues for the other two matches of the series.
Why This Series is Important
This will be India’s (and Australia’s) last series before the ODI World Cup. Fans can expect a hard-fought series in which both teams would try to establish a psychological advantage ahead of the World Cup. The pressure will be on India to prove that their 1-2 loss to Australia in the last home ODI series in March 2023 was an aberration.
India vs Australia T20I Series
The Australia squad will remain in India after the conclusion of the World Cup. They will play five T20Is versus India after the ICC event. The first match will be hosted at Vizag on 23 November. The fifth and last match of the series is due to take place in Hyderabad on 3 December.
India vs Afghanistan T20I Series
In January 2024, the Afghanistan team will arrive in India to play a bilateral white-ball series. India will host the tourists in a 3-match T20I series. Mohali will host the first game of the series, while Indore will host the second. The 3rd and final match will be held in Bengaluru, a venue at which Afghanistan played test cricket for the first time.
India vs England Test Series
The focus will thereafter shift to the World Test Championship, with England set to tour India for a five-match series beginning on 25 January 2024. Hyderabad will host the first match of the series. The second match will take place at Vizag. Rajkot will be the venue for the third test, while Ranchi and Dharamsala will host the fourth and fifth, respectively.
Current Points Table of the World Test Championship
| Team | P | W | L | D | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 100.00 |
| India | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.67 |
| Australia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18* | 30.00 |
| West Indies | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9* | 15.00 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 00.00 |
The WTC 2023-25 Final Beckons
Beating England in the test series will help India take a giant step towards qualifying for the WTC 2023-25 final. As England and Australia have tied their Ashes series 2-2, both teams have a low PCT of 43.33. The last time England toured India for a test series in 2021, India beat them 3-1. The result of the upcoming series is unlikely to be much different. Thereafter, India’s position on the points table could depend on India’s performance versus Australia in Australia. It will also be interesting to see how Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand do in the other group.
Conclusion
The upcoming season will have a bearing on where Indian cricket is headed. Regardless of whether India win the ODI World Cup, the Indian team is likely to undergo many changes. The test series versus England will be another opportunity to establish their dominance in the longest format.
