A day after the BCCI announced IPL dates; the ICC on Tuesday virtually left an unofficial window for the T20 event, making it easy for players from most nations to contribute in it. The ICC on the third day of its annual chat left gaps in the FTP for most nations throughout April and May for the eight-year period from 2012-20.
The FTP, which was approved by the ICC Executive Board on Tuesday on the advice of Chief Executives' Committee, contains a bureaucrat two-week window in September for the winner League Twenty20 each year and leaves space for an illegal IPL window in April and May. All the earlier four account of the IPL were held in April-May and the fifth edition next year is scheduled from April 4 to May 27.
Under the new FTP calendar, India is listed to host Pakistan for a Test series in 2013, the first time after 2007. But, beyond that, particulars of other series between the two countries were not vague with the host nation nor the number of games was specified.
They would also play 90 Tests and 166 ODIs within the eight-year span. India also plays fewer Test matches than England and Australia in the eight-year period though the world champion would be the busiest team in ODIs. The FTP has a clear division among the Test playing country with England, Australia and India listed to play the most Tests, followed by Sri Lanka and South Africa.
England will play 99 matches over the next eight years, Australia 92. Sri Lanka and South Africa will play 76 and 74 Tests likewise. They are trail by the West Indies and New Zealand with 66 Tests each and Pakistan with 65 followed by Bangladesh (42) and Zimbabwe (41). The ODIs are more evenly dispersed. India will play 89 away ODIs among its 166 matches. Zimbabwe has the fewest at 64, of which 37 are at home. All other country play between 100 and 160 games.
In the Twenty20 format, most teams are scheduled to play between 30 to 55 matches. Apart from England and Australia playing five-Test Ashes, India's tours to England in 2014 and 2018 will also contain five Tests. No other team will be involved in five-Test contests. All of India's other bilateral series are between two and four-Test affairs. West Indies and Sri Lanka, however, have not anything longer than three-Test series, while Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are limited to two.
According to the FTP, India will not host Bangladesh or Zimbabwe for either Tests or ODIs in the whole of the eight-year period. India has not hosted Bangladesh in a two-sided series since the latter got Test position in 2000. There will also be two Ashes series in 2013 - one during the English summer and the other in Australia at the end of the year - in order to keep away from a clash with the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The ICC Executive Board also approved the CEC recommendations on the mandatory use of a modified version of the Decision Review Systems for Test matches and ODIs. The modified version would have Hot-Spot and snickometer technology but without the Hawk Eye ball-racker,Which means that the leg before decisions would not be within the purview of the DRS?