In recent developments, Team India reportedly is set to tour Australia twice in the next Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle, starting from 2024-2032.
The report states that both the teams will play five-match Test series instead of the usual four games. The full FTP is expected to be announced formally later this month, around the ICC's annual meeting in Birmingham, which is scheduled to take place on July 25 and 26.
According to 'The Age', the reports further added that Australian cricketing body Cricket Australia (CA) had informed domestic and international broadcasters that both India and England would tour the Down Under country for two full Test tours in the upcoming cycle.
The ongoing ICC FTP, running from 2018, will finish with the men's 50-over ICC World Cup in 2023, which is set to be played in India in October-November next year.
"[Cricket Australia] recently informed a range of broadcasters, both domestic and international, of the fact that it has secured two full Test tours by each of India and England over the next FTP, with India's tours increased from four to five-match series," the report stated.
Team India last toured Australia in 2021, where they swatted the mighty Aussies 2-1 in the four-match Test series. The visitors went on to clinch the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), drew the Sydney Test and in a terrific turnaround, they scripted history by defeating the Aussies at their fortress – The Gabba.
The Indian team has always been a monetary hub for fellow struggling cricket boards and hence it did not come as a surprise when Cricket Australia (CA), at the end of the last four-match series, acknowledged the efforts and sacrifices BCCI made to ensure a steady conduct of the series amid Covid-19.
Notably, the lucrative four-match Test series, which turned out to be the blockbuster series Down Under against India, helped Australia earn a projected revenue of AUD 300 million.
"Seasons without Test-match visits by England or India generally mean a reduction in crowds and broadcast audiences - part of the reason why CA itself works on a multi-year financial model to balance fluctuations in the international schedule," said the report in the leading Australian daily.
The Men in Blue, both in 2018-19 and 2020-21 won the Test series against Australia on their soil. Prior to 2018, India had never won a Test series Down Under.