Due to Pakistan's packed schedule from 2024–25, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is on track to become the first T20 league to clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has set the March-May timeframe for PSL 2025, which coincides with the IPL 2025 season.
Pakistan will host the ICC Champions Trophy in February 2025, its first major cricket tour in almost 30 years. The PCB was then forced to hold the PSL's tenth season between March and May. The IPL schedule, on other hand, always begins in the first week of March and lasts until the beginning of June. As a result, the final two weeks of the PSL 2025 and the first two weeks of the IPL 2025 will clash.
Even before the ICC Future Tour Programmes (FTP) were decided, the BCCI promised all franchises and official broadcasters a longer IPL window. Every year, the BCCI ensures that the weeks between March 1 to June 1 are set aside for IPL.
“While finalising our Future Tours Programme 2023-2027 in a tight and densely-packed cricket calendar, we have given priority to context, quality and player workload” PCB chief executive Faisal Hasnain told ESPNCricinfo.
“We have also tried to find an appropriate balance across all the three formats so that these continue to co-exist meaningfully,”
ICC Men’s FTP
Pakistan missed out on hosting top teams in the three previous FTP cycles due to security concerns. However, in the most recent cycle, Pakistan will play 13 Tests, 26 ODIs, and 27 T20Is at home, in addition to the Champions Trophy, resulting in a jam-packed schedule.
The ICC published the Men's FTP 2023-27 on Wednesday, confirming the international calendar for all Full Members across all three formats. From August 18, 2022, to February 20, 2027, India will play 44 Tests, 63 ODIs, and 76 T20Is.
The 2023-2027 FTP cycle will feature 12 Full Members playing 777 international matches (173 Tests, 281 ODIs, and 323 T20Is), up from 694 in the current cycle.
In the new FTP, Bangladesh has the most bilateral international games at 150, followed by the West Indies at 147, England (142), India (141), New Zealand (135), Australia (132), Sri Lanka (131), Pakistan (130), Afghanistan (123), South Africa (113), Ireland (110), and Zimbabwe (109).
Bangladesh also has the highest number of bilateral ODIs at 59, followed by Sri Lanka at 52, Ireland (51), England (48), West Indies (48), Pakistan (47), New Zealand (46), Afghanistan (45), Zimbabwe (44), Australia (43), India (42) and South Africa (42). (39).
In terms of bilateral T20Is, the West Indies play the most at 73, followed by India at 61, Afghanistan (57), Bangladesh (57), New Zealand (57), Pakistan (56), Sri Lanka (54), England (51), Australia (49), Ireland (47), South Africa (46) and Zimbabwe (45).
England plays the most Test cricket matches at 43, followed by Australia at 40, India (38), Bangladesh (34), New Zealand (32), South Africa (28), Pakistan (27), West Indies (26), Sri Lanka (25), Afghanistan (21), Zimbabwe (20), and Ireland (12).
The first Border-Gavaskar series will take place during the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle when India visits Australia in the summer of 2024-25.
Australia will then play five Tests in India in January and February 2027 as part of the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle. England will also face the Men in Blue in two five-match series, one at home in early 2024 and one away in 2025.
