ICC's agenda for 2027-31: more T20Is, fewer bilateral ODIs

As cricket administrators gather in Dubai for a critical operations workshop, the blueprint for the 2027–31 Future Tours Programme (FTP) is beginning to take shape. While a comprehensive calendar won't be rubber-stamped until the Bali quarterly meeting in November, the direction of travel is unmistakable: T20Is are multiplying, bilateral ODIs are getting squeezed, and the calendar is wrestling with historic scheduling ghosts. The T20 Surge and the Retro ODI Pivot T20 internationals remain the ICC’s undisputed financial and global expansion engine, fueled by a biennial World Cup cycle. Full Members are set to load up on more T20Is in the upcoming window, opening wider doors for associate nations like Namibia—whose chair and new ICC board director Rudi van Vuuren has championed the format's multiplier effect. Crucially, the ODI isn't facing extinction, largely anchored by its premier World Cup format. Rather than resurrecting the unloved ODI Super League, administrators are eyeing a nostalgia trip: 1990s-style tri-series and quadrangular tournaments designed to inject context and rivalry back into 50-over bilateral slates. The "Big 3" Core and the LA 2028 Conundrum Unsurprisingly, core marquee commitments are locked in: The Ashes: Fixed for England (2027), Australia (2029–30), and England (2031). India-England Axis: India travels to England/hosts accordingly, with a cross-continental Test cycle looping through early 2028 and 2029. However, the headline logistical headache of the 2027–31 cycle is Los Angeles 2028. Marking cricket's Olympic return since 1900, the July men's T20 event overlaps directly with England’s home Test series against the West Indies, forcing board compromises. Meanwhile, tier-one gravity dictates the rest of the schedule: South Africa hosts India immediately post-2027 World Cup (co-hosted with Zimbabwe and Namibia), while the PCB—skirting bilateral fixtures with India—aligns heavy multi-format series with England and Australia. WTC Expansion Stall and DRS Horizon World Test Championship (2027–29): Despite proposals from an ICC working committee earlier this year to expand past 9 teams (adding Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland plus one-Test series), a two-tier model is dead and formal expansion remains murky. Zimbabwe is eager; Afghanistan and Ireland adoption remains tentative. DRS Competition: Day two in Dubai pivots to expanding tech accreditation beyond current mainstays Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye.