Australian cricket schedule 2024/25: Gold Coast’s Carrara Stadium to host T20 International with India

The Gold Coast will host a T20 international next summer in a development described as a “great coup” which bolsters the city’s hopes of hosting cricket during the 2032 Olympics.

The Gold Coast will host a T20 international against India next summer in a development described as a “great coup” which bolsters the city’s hopes of hosting the sport during the Olympics.

The 2025-26 Australian cricket schedule will be released on Monday morning, revealing Carrara’s People First Stadium will host the men’s T20 international between Australia and India on November 6.

The night match is one of five T20 internationals which will be played across the summer.

Nathan Ellis of Australia bats during the game two of Men's T20 International series between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park on February 23, 2024. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Mayor Tom Tate, who will join Cricket Australia Executive General Manager National Teams Ben Oliver in making the announcement on Monday, said the city hoped to host T20 cricket at the Olympics in 2032.

“It’s a great coup for the city to have international cricket return to Carrara,” Mr Tate said.

“In the lead up to 2032 we will see more international sporting events here, and are optimistic that T20 cricket will be added to the Olympic sports list.”

T20 cricket is among a short-list of events which are hoping to gain special selection to be included in the 2032 Games, alongside netball, lifesaving and breakdancing.

Mayor Tom Tate Picture Glenn Hampson

The final program of sports is expected to be settled in the lead-up to Los Angeles 2028.

News of the Gold Coast T20 test comes amid announcements regarding the Ashes, a One Day International (ODI) series against India and both T20 and ODI tests against South Africa.

Those games will also be played in regional locations including Cairns, Mackay and Darwin.

The Gold Coast game is likely to deliver a boost to the economy, with tourists from India already worth more than $27m to the city. Carrara has hosted many T20 Big Bash games over the years and international fixtures, including an infamous four-day clash in 1991 between England and the Queensland Bulls which made headlines after two of the tourists left the game to take a joy-flight from a nearby airfield. 

The game will be played at Carrara satdium.

The news of a Gold Coast match will be welcomed by the city’s business community which has long called for the city to host international cricket, such as an Indian Premier League (IPL) game.

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn last year said India was a growing market for the city.

“As Australia’s fastest-growing education market, India is a particular focus for us, as are the emerging student markets like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand,” he said in 2024.

“India visitation has so far recovered by almost 45 per cent against pre-pandemic levels, so, to put that into perspective, we welcomed 36,000 Indian visitors who contributed more than $27m to our visitor economy in 2019.

“We continue to work closely in partnership with our airports to unlock new services through aviation hubs that would allow travel into the Gold Coast from other parts of Asia, India, and Europe.”