It has been a long time since the BCCI sent an Indian squad to participate in a tri-series. All the multi-nation tournaments which the Indian team has played in the last four years were either World Cup or Asia Cup. The rest of the matches have been bilateral series only.
Several cricket fans and critics have opined that tri-series can make the cricket series more interesting than bilateral tours. Earlier today, a new tri-series started in New Zealand, with Pakistan and Bangladesh competing against the home team. The triangular series has a different level of thrill.
Earlier, India played tri-series frequently in West Indies and Australia. However, the Men in Blue’s last tri-series was against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy. There were three windows in 2022, where BCCI and ICC could have conducted a tri-series. Here’s a list of those three windows.
1. September 2022 – BCCI invited South Africa and Australia
South Africa and Australia toured India for a tri-series in the space of two weeks. With a better scheduling, the board could have planned a tri-nation series featuring India, South Africa and Australia. It would have allowed all teams to test themselves in different situations and playing conditions just before the T20 World Cup 2022.
2. July 2022 – India vs England vs South Africa
SA are in England. Their ODI series starts on 19th July. England v India ODI series finishes on 17th July. I think this could have been a really good Tri Series. Would have been great for the fans as well. Tri series > Bilaterals. #ENGvIND
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 14, 2022
In July 2022, both India and South African teams were in England. However, the boards planned to have two bilateral ODI series instead of having one tri-series featuring England, India and South Africa. It would have been more entertaining if the organizers thought out of the box and gave the fans some memorable matches.
3. June/July 2022 – India vs England vs Ireland
Around the same period, India played a bilateral series against Ireland. The white-ball specialists played against Ireland, while the red-ball specialists were in the practice match for the Test against England. A white-ball specialist team of England could have co-hosted a tri-series in that gap also involving Ireland.
