Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Todd Greenberg has said the governing body would be willing to explore the possibility of staging an Australia-England Test in India, describing the idea as an opportunity to take the game’s biggest contests to key global markets.
The Ashes, one of cricket’s oldest rivalries dating back to 1882, has traditionally alternated between England and Australia as the venues. Australia reclaimed the urn with a commanding 4-1 victory in the 2025-26 series, while England will host the next edition in 2027.
Before then, the two sides are scheduled to meet in a standalone day-night Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 2027 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first-ever Test match. The fixture will not be part of the Ashes series.
Speaking about the future of marquee Test matches, Greenberg said he would not dismiss the prospect of taking an exhibition Test between Australia and England to India. The suggestion comes after Cricket Australia decided to stage a Big Bash League match between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers in Chennai later this year, highlighting its willingness to experiment with overseas venues.
“We’d have to be open to consider all options,” Greenberg told the BBC’s Stumped podcast.
“Our relationship with the ECB but also the BCCI is very strong. And clearly, there are opportunities in India to put more content into certain areas. That’s not something we are currently planning, but it would be certainly open for consideration.”
The financial appeal of the Indian market has become increasingly evident in recent years. Earlier this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) projected that its balance sheet would receive a significant boost from India’s recent white-ball tour of England. In contrast, the governing body expects lower revenues in 2027 despite hosting both the men’s and women’s Ashes, noting that its finances fluctuate depending on the schedule of commercially valuable international tours.
Any proposal to move an Australia-England Test outside the two countries would require approval from Cricket Australia, the ECB and the BCCI. Greenberg believes such initiatives could help Test cricket strengthen its position at a time when franchise leagues continue to dominate the global calendar. With tournaments like the IPL expanding their footprint across the cricketing world, he argued that taking iconic Test matches to new audiences could be beneficial, while also acknowledging that fitting another marquee fixture into an already congested international schedule would not be straightforward.
“I think Test cricket between us, England and India is still very strong, probably bucking the trend as to other parts of the world. So we want to make sure we continue to grow it and strengthen it.
“The challenge for all of us in global cricket is there are only 365 days in a schedule and we probably need another month or two if we actually can generate the content we want to.”
The men’s Ashes 2027 will start off at Trent Bridge on June 18 next year.
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