The loss against New Zealand drew the curtains on India’s World Cup campaign.
While the final between England and New Zealand will be an interesting watch for many, we Indians are already thinking about the future ICC tournaments.
Looking beyond 2019, the future for ICC tournaments looks bright and exciting. If you aren’t aware, with two new introductions, the ICC plans to revamp the cricketing calendar and include as many nations, as possible.
The revamping is a part of the ICC’s Men’s Future Tour Programme (FTP) and India can ensure they’re right there, doing what they’ve done at inaugural events, i.e., winning it.
Here’s a list of the ICC tournaments for both men and women, where the Indian team can look for silverware, this time around.
According to the FTP (Future Tour Programme), the men’s cricketing calendar has been jam packed since 2018 and will be the same, until 2023.
The women too have their share of opportunities in the next few years, playing in at least a couple of ICC tournaments.
1. ICC Women’s Championship (2017 to 2020)
This is the second edition of the Women’s One Day International (WODI) tournament, which will determine qualification for the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Featuring: 8 Teams
Cricket Format: One Day International
Tournament Format: Round Robin Qualification
Qualification for the 2021 World Cup: As of 14th June, 2019, only Australia and England have qualified for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup. Directly, a total of 5 teams including the hosts (New Zealand) will qualify.
2. Inaugural ICC Men’s World Test Championship (July 2019 – June 2021)
Coming nearly a decade after the original idea was proposed, the inaugural tournament will take place from July, 2019.
The ICC wanted to host the Test Championship earlier, but both the attempts in 2013 and 2017 were failures.
Cricket Format: Test
Tournament Format: League & Final
Total Matches: Unconfirmed
Qualification: Each team will play only 6 other opponents, three at home and three away. However, each series may consist of between 5 to 2 matches. So while teams will not necessarily play the same number of matches, they will play the same number of tournaments.
3. ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 (21 February to 8 March 2020)
The seventh women’s T20 tournament, this T20 World Cup will be played six months ahead of the men’s tournament and is a major opportunity for young women cricketers trying to cement their spot in their respectives squads.
Cricket Format: T20 International
Tournament Format: Knockouts, Semi-final & Final
Total Matches: 23
Qualification: Out of the top 10 ranked teams, 8 will qualify automatically along with the hosts (Australia). The remaining two teams will be decided through a qualifying tournament.
4. ICC World Cup Men’s Super League (May 2020 to March 2022)
The first edition of the inaugural One Day International league will commence in May 2020 and will continue till March 2022.
Featuring: 13 Teams (12 Test Playing Nations + Netherlands)
Cricket Format: One Day International
Total Matches: 156
Each team will play an ODI series against 8 of the 12 opponents, four at home and four away. Each series will consist of 3 ODIs. The Netherlands have qualified as the champions of the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League Championship.
Qualification for the 2023 World Cup: The top 7 sides in this league and the hosts (India) will automatically qualify for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The rest of the sides will play a qualifying tournament with rest of the Associate sides or nations playing cricket. Only 2 from this qualifying event will ultimately qualify.
5. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 (October to November 2020)
The 7th ICC T20 World Cup tournament will be held in Australia and will give teams like UAE and Nepal a chance to qualify through regional competitions.
Cricket Format: T20 International
Tournament Format: League stage and Knockouts
Total Matches: 45
Qualification: Top 9 ranked sides on the ICC charts and the hosts (Australia) have already qualified. 6 berths remain for which teams will be playing the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
6. 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (9 February to 26 March 2023)
Coming full circle in the 4-year calendar, this is what matters the most and will serve as the biggest inspiration to work hard throughout the 4 years.
The last time a World Cup was held in India, the Men in Blue won it. This time around though, our country will independently host the entire tournament.
Cricket Format: One Day International
Tournament Format: Round-Robin & Knockouts
Qualification: The top 7 sides from the ICC Men’s World Cup Super League and the hosts for 2023 (India) will automatically qualify for the tournament. The other 2 spots will be decided through a qualifier tournament.
Apart from the Test Championship, ODI Super League, T20 World Cup and the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup for men, every other bilateral series is outside the regulations of the FTP, but still governed by the ICC.