Australia Floats England Test in India to Revive Flagging Format

Ashes Test on Indian Soil? Cricket Australia's Chief Executive Raises the Prospect

Cricket Australia's chief executive has proposed staging a Test match between England and Australia on Indian soil, aiming to grow the longest format's appeal in the one market that can reliably deliver both broadcast revenue and packed stadiums.

The underlying logic: India remains cricket's commercial engine. The BCCI's broadcast deals dwarf those of every other cricket board, and Indian fans have shown increasing appetite for live Test cricket even when India is not playing. An Ashes fixture in Mumbai, Kolkata, or Ahmedabad would test whether that appetite extends to neutral-venue Tests and whether the sport's oldest rivalry can generate engagement outside its traditional Anglo-Australian base.

Test Cricket's Commercial Decline Meets India's Full Houses

The pressures on Test cricket are well documented. Empty stands for non-marquee series, scheduling conflicts with franchise T20 leagues, and shrinking broadcast windows have eroded the format's commercial viability. Cricket Australia's chief executive is naming what administrators have discussed privately for years: the bilateral Test calendar alone cannot sustain the format.

India offers a different picture. The 2023 World Test Championship Final at The Oval drew modest crowds, yet India's own home Tests regularly fill venues of 50,000 to 100,000 capacity. The BCCI has historically shown limited willingness to host matches not featuring India, but the commercial incentive to test that position with a fixture as prominent as the Ashes is difficult to dismiss.

Pitch, Broadcast Rights, and the 4-1 Problem

Logistical challenges would reshape the contest. Spin-friendly subcontinent pitches, weather conditions foreign to Ashes cricket, and England's 4-1 series defeat in India earlier in 2024 would add layers of competitive tension neither side has faced in this rivalry before.

Broadcast rights present a separate obstacle. Ashes television deals are negotiated bilaterally between Cricket Australia and the ECB. A neutral-venue match would require both boards plus the BCCI to agree on a revenue-sharing model that compensates all three convincingly enough to justify the precedent.

What the BCCI Would Need to Commit

The ICC's Future Tours Programme already struggles to accommodate bilateral series, and the proliferation of domestic T20 leagues continues to cannibalise the calendar. A high-profile neutral-venue fixture could serve as proof of concept for more flexible scheduling.

The BCCI's track record, though, points to prioritising its own bilateral fixtures and the IPL above everything else. Hosting an Ashes Test would demand real venue allocation and promotional commitment. The revenue opportunity from two of cricket's biggest brands in a single match is obvious, but the board has given no public indication it would act on it.

Cricket Australia's willingness to raise the idea publicly signals the conversation has moved past casual speculation. Whether the ECB reciprocates and the BCCI shows interest will decide if this becomes a fixture or stays a thought experiment.