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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jack Snape and Josh Nicholas

The new Ashes? How the rivalry between Australia and India is reaching new heights

The last time Australia and India met in a Test match at the MCG was during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
The last time Australia and India met in a Test match at the MCG was during the Covid pandemic in 2020. Officials expect a bumper crowd for this year’s Boxing Day Test. Photograph: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Cricket Australia officials are hopeful of attracting 90,000 fans on Boxing Day this year for just the second time in a Test, as part of a summer that finally pulls India alongside England as Australia’s most important cricketing rival – and partner.

The series, which starts in Perth on Friday, is the first five-Test contest between the two countries since 1991-92 and marks the start of a radical new look to Australian summers. India’s men will become an even more regular accompaniment, but Australia’s best women players will abandon their homeland in peak season from 2026 to play in the burgeoning Women’s Premier League (WPL).

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