India’s upcoming schedule highlights the importance of an international cricketing itinerary that leads to the diversification of the sport.
When the Board of Control for Cricket in India unveiled its home schedule for 2026–27, much of the attention was on venue allocations. The high-profile series against Australia will bypass several of India’s traditional Test centres, with venues such as Ahmedabad and Guwahati emerging as preferred hosts. In contrast, established venues including Mumbai and Kolkata have been allotted white-ball fixtures against Zimbabwe, who are set to tour India for the first time in over two decades.
This season, India are scheduled to host the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Australia, while also playing a limited-overs series against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. They will tour England and play T20Is in Ireland and Zimbabwe, before travelling to New Zealand for a Test series. The spread of opponents across formats and conditions reflects a calendar that accommodates both established and emerging sides.
Around the same time, in England, discussions around a proposed European cricketing competition met resistance. The ECB declined support for the Euro Nations Cup, an idea put forward by Cricket Ireland chair Brian MacNeice, citing an already congested international schedule. While proponents framed the tournament as an opportunity to strengthen the game across the region, the ECB maintained its position, prioritising existing bilateral and global commitments.
It is in this context that recent schedules offer some insight. Teams that travel more frequently, especially to a wider range of destinations, contribute not only to competitive variety but also to the financial circulation of the game.
*Bilateral series only, each format has been counted as a separate tour (e.g. if New Zealand go to India for an all-format tour, each one is considered a separate series).
The table shows a clear clustering of fixtures among the top sides. India, England and Australia dominate both home and away columns, playing each other frequently while maintaining regular travel cycles. Just below them, West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and South Africa retain a reasonably varied spread of opponents, but the network begins to narrow further down, as Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan appear in more limited, often repetitive circuits, reflecting fewer touring relationships.
India’s footprint is notably wider. They appear across almost every row (barring playing against Pakistan), including against teams that do not feature as frequently in the schedules of others, such as Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland. That broader spread becomes significant when placed alongside the financial realities of the game.
The monetary dominance of the BCCI is well established, but it exists alongside the ECB and Cricket Australia as part of the game’s primary economic centre. Bilateral cricket involving any of these three boards carries disproportionate value, particularly for smaller nations hosting them. Broadcast deals expand, sponsorship interest rises, crowds surge in, and the exposure for players increases sharply.
Revenue from ICC events, driven largely by the sale of broadcast rights in the Indian market, contributes a substantial share of the ICC’s overall earnings. That total is then redistributed to member boards as annual funding, forming a financial base for the global game. But this central distribution operates at a distance. The more immediate and tangible impact still comes from how often teams actually play each other.
India’s fellow Big Three members could take a cue from their schedule
England and Australia have largely operated within tighter bilateral circles, prioritising established rivalries. India, by contrast, have engaged more regularly, hosting Afghanistan, alongside repeated tours to Zimbabwe, while shorter-format visits to Ireland have become more frequent.
That approach extends beyond bilateral cricket. India’s regular participation in the Asia Cup, alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, often with full-strength squads, ensures that the Associates sides face top-level opposition. Their involvement in the Asian Games and the Emerging Teams Asia Cup adds further layers of exposure, bringing younger players into competitive environments. These interactions accumulate over time, raising standards and sustaining pathways for teams still building their place in the global game.
There are also quieter forms of engagement. Ahead of the T20 World Cup, teams such as the USA and Namibia were given preparation games against India A sides, offering exposure that would otherwise be difficult to access. At the domestic level, state associations have called upon Associate nations, including when Karnataka toured Namibia a few years ago. Afghanistan, too, have found a home in India after the inability to stage games at home, ensuring continuity in both preparation alongside excellent facilities.
Set against this, the ECB’s resistance to expanding its calendar reflects a more contained approach. It protects existing commitments, but it also limits the number of entry points available to emerging teams. Without such access, the gap between the top and the rest risks becoming more marked over time.
The debate, then, is not just about who earns the most, but how that influence is exercised. Money entering the game through its largest markets can sustain global structures, but its wider impact depends on how often it is put into circulation through fixtures.
This can only be achieved through a diverse, well-planned schedule that balances formats, spreads matches across venues, and gives emerging teams real opportunities. Regular competition against a variety of opponents helps cricket grow inclusively, maintain high standards, which then allows it to stay vibrant and competitive worldwide.
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