Ashes in India? Cricket Australia leaves door open for landmark 150th Test

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has said the board would be open to exploring the possibility of staging the landmark 150th anniversary Ashes Test in India, underlining the growing importance of the Indian market to world cricket.

Australia and England are scheduled to play a one-off Test in March next year to commemorate 150 years of the historic Ashes rivalry. While there are no current plans to take the match outside Australia, Greenberg admitted the idea of hosting it in India could be considered in the future.

His comments come at a time when Cricket Australia is expanding its footprint in India. This December, the Big Bash League will stage a match in Chennai, where Melbourne Renegades will face Perth Scorchers, marking another step in bringing Australian cricket closer to Indian fans.

The prospect of an Ashes Test in India also reflects the commercial significance of the country’s cricket market. India remains the sport’s biggest audience, and hosting a marquee contest between Australia and England would generate enormous interest while creating fresh commercial opportunities.

Greenberg said Cricket Australia would not rule out the idea, citing its strong ties with both the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“We’d have to be open to consider all options,” Greenberg told the BBC’s Stumped podcast. “Our relationship with the ECB, but also the BCCI, is very strong. And clearly, there are opportunities in India to put more content into certain areas. That’s not something we are currently planning, but it would certainly be open for consideration.”

India’s influence on the global cricket economy has continued to grow in recent years. The ECB, for instance, is expected to post substantial profits from the eight white-ball internationals it hosted against India recently, despite England winning six of those matches. The financial returns are expected to surpass what the board anticipates from staging both the men’s and women’s Ashes series next year.

Despite his openness to the proposal, Greenberg acknowledged that scheduling a five-day Ashes Test in India would be far from straightforward.

The Indian calendar is already packed with international cricket and the IPL, which is expected to begin earlier than usual next year to avoid the extreme heat towards the end of May. Finding a suitable window for another marquee event would therefore be a major challenge.

“I think Test cricket between us, England and India, is still very strong, probably bucking the trend as to other parts of the world. So we want to make sure we continue to grow it and strengthen it.

“The challenge for all of us in global cricket is there are only 365 days in a schedule, and we probably need another month or two if we actually can generate the content we want to,” he said.