The International Cricket Council announced its men’s full-member, complete FTP schedule for the 2023–2027 cycle on Wednesday (August 17) in a press release. The biggest takeaway from the announced schedule is the increase in the number of matches across all formats compared to the previous cycle. The 12 full members of the ICC will play a total of 777 international matches in the next cycle, 83 more than in the current cycle. Bangladesh is the biggest gainer, as they will play 150 international matches. The complete FTP schedule of Bangladesh for the 2023–2027 cycle is discussed in this article.
Breakdown of 2023-2027 FTP for Bangladesh men’s cricket team
The ICC allocated the maximum number of matches for Bangladesh in the 2023–2027 cycle, which is quite surprising. During this cycle, they have been allotted the most ODIs as well as the third most Test and T20I matches. Bangladesh will play 150 international games in total, which are divided into 59 ODIs, 34 Tests, and 57 T20Is.
Among the other nations, the West Indies will play 147 international matches, followed by England 142, India 141, New Zealand 135, Australia 132, Sri Lanka 131, Pakistan 130, Afghanistan 123, South Africa 113, Ireland 110, and Zimbabwe 109. Let’s take a look at the year-wise 2023-2027 FTP (Future Tours Programme) cycle for the Bangladesh men’s team.
2023
Bangladesh will play 4 Test matches, at least 9 ODIs and 6 T20Is in the year 2023 of the 2023-2027 cycle. The number of international matches could increase depending on their performance in the Asia Cup 2023.
Bangladesh’s FTP for 2023 in the 2023-2027 cycle
Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf
2024
Bangladesh have 14 scheduled Test matches in the year 2024, which is a really big number. Besides, they will also play 9 ODIs and 17 T20Is apart from the matches of the Twenty20 World Cup in the USA.
Bangladesh’s FTP for 2024
2026
TSource: Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf
he year 2026 will be important for Bangladesh as they will host Australia in June for a bilateral series. Besides, Bangladesh will play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the February-March window.
Bangladesh’s FTP for 2026
Matches Opposition Venue
T20 World Cup 2026 (February-March) TBD India-Sri Lanka
2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (March-April) Pakistan Home
3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (April) New Zealand Home
3 ODIs, 3T20Is (June) Australia Home
2 Tests, 3 ODIs (July) Zimbabwe Away
3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (August) Ireland Away
2 Tests (October-November) West Indies Home
2 Tests, 3 ODIs (November-December) South Africa Away
2027
Source: Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf
Bangladesh’s ICC FTP 2023–2027 will end with a 2-match Test series against England at home in February, followed by a 2-match Test series against Australia away from home in March.
Bottom Line
As per the announced ICC’s FTP schedule for the 2023-2027 cycle, Bangladesh will be the only full member team to touch the 150-international match mark despite their poor performances in the Test and Twenty20 formats. They will face all the ICC’s full member teams in the upcoming four-year cycle. The Bangladesh national side has to raise their overall performance in these two formats in order to show their progress on the international scene. Besides, Bangladesh will play a good number of ODIs in the next cycle, which will help them to rise in the ICC’s rankings.
Source: United News of Bangladesh