Ashes in India: Cricket Australia ready to play vs England on Indian soil in future provided ECB and BCCI agrees originally appeared on Cricket News.
Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Cricket Australia open to hosting Ashes Test on Indian soil.
- Idea needs approval from both ECB and BCCI to proceed.
- Move follows Big Bash League’s planned expansion into India.
Cricket Australia eyes Ashes Test on Indian turf
Cricket’s oldest rivalry could one day find a new home, with Cricket Australia’s top boss suggesting that England and Australia should seriously weigh up staging a Test match in India as a way of reviving interest in the format.
Traditionally, the two nations have clashed in the five-day game exclusively through the Ashes, a series that alternates between the two countries roughly once every four years.
The idea comes at a time when the two sides are already preparing for something unusual, a standalone Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 2027, arranged to mark 150 years since England and Australia first squared off in Test cricket.
Against that backdrop, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg told BBC Sport that shifting cricket’s oldest and most commercially valuable Test contest to Indian shores was a concept worth exploring seriously.
“It’s not something that we are planning, but it’s open for consideration. We’d have to be open to considering all options,” Greenberg said.
“Our relationship with the ECB and the BCCI is very strong and clearly there are opportunities in India to put more content in certain areas.”
Big Bash’s India push sets the tone
This isn’t the first sign of Cricket Australia looking to strengthen its ties with Indian audiences. The board is already preparing to take its domestic T20 competition, the Big Bash League, abroad for the very first time, with Melbourne Renegades set to face off against Perth Scorchers in Chennai this coming December.
Officials have described the move as an effort to widen the tournament’s global reach by plugging into what remains cricket’s largest and most lucrative market.
The broader context here is a decline in enthusiasm for Test cricket within India in recent years, as shorter formats and the ever-expanding Indian Premier League have increasingly dominated fan attention. Greenberg was confident, however, that an Ashes clash staged in India would draw enormous interest regardless.
“I think Test cricket between us, India and England is very strong and probably bucking the trend in some other parts of the world. We want to make sure we grow and strengthen it,” he said.
MORE: ‘More professional than Virat’: Dinesh Karthik names Australian star who amazed him in the IPL
A bold idea, but logistics won’t be simple
On paper, an Ashes Test in India sounds like a masterstroke, pairing the sport’s most storied rivalry with its most passionate fanbase. Realistically, though, turning that idea into a fixture on the calendar is far tougher than floating it in an interview.
MORE: Warner pleads guilty to drink-driving charge: Faces driving ban, fine, and even potential prison
It is almost a full house in every Test match, regardless of venue, be it England or Australia. So, taking one match out would make little sense.
There’s also the question of whether Indian crowds, who have shown a clear preference for T20 cricket over Tests involving their own team, would turn up in similar numbers for a contest they have no direct stake in. Novelty alone might sell tickets once, but sustaining interest would require more than nostalgia.
And if Ahmedabad gets to host, it might be really difficult to sell off a 132,00 seater stadium for five days. Empty seats in an Ashes match? Not sure how the English and Australian fans would take that.
For all the latest cricket news, opinion and commentary and to share your voice head to our Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) pages.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
