England take major step for Indian viewers ahead of T20I series against new look Team India

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has made a significant change to the schedule of their upcoming T20I series against India in a bid to maximise television viewership, which is expected to be driven mainly by crores of Indian viewers.

The ECB has shifted the start time of three T20Is against India from 6:30 PM local time to 5:30 PM local time. The revised timing means the matches will now begin at 10 PM IST instead of 11 PM IST, making them more accessible for Indian viewers.

India will tour England for an eight-match white-ball series from July 1 to July 19, comprising five T20Is and three ODIs. According to ESPNCricinfo, the change was made after discussions involving broadcasters and other stakeholders.

The start times for England's home matches are decided after consultations between the ECB, venues, the opposition board and broadcasters. In this case, the discussions involved Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Sony Sports Network in India.

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The change in the start time of 6:30 PM, which had become a standard start time in recent seasons, highlights ECB's reliance on "high-value broadcast series", especially the ones featuring India, which was revealed in the recently published financial report of ECB.

England to suffer losses next year due to the lack of an India series

ECB is projected to register a profit this year due to India's tour, but anticipates losses in 2027 despite the men's team playing the highly anticipated Ashes series against Australia at home.

"Attention should be drawn to the fact that the ECB's revenues are inherently cyclical, reflecting the scheduling of high-value broadcast series by opposition," the report said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

The tickets for the tour went on sale last year, with all three ODIs, a format receiving a popularity boost by the presence of Indian superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, sold out, and only a few hundred T20Is tickets remain.

Sunset during the peak English summer takes place after 9 PM, meaning all five T20Is could be completed after floodlights come into play.

Indian squad for the T20I series, a 16-man strong line-up featuring 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and newly-appointed skipper Shreyas Iyer, who is replacing the T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

Cricket Ireland has also experienced an uptick in interest in their two home T20Is against India on June 26 and 28, which could see Sooryavanshi make his international debut, becoming the youngest Indian to do so, breaking legend Sachin Tendulkar's record, which has been intact since 1989.

Both matches were sold out before India announced the squad, with the Civil Service ground at Stormont in Belfast set to operate at a capacity of around 4,500.

(With agency inputs)