Bangladesh to play most matches in next ICC FTP

Bangladesh national cricket team is set to play the most number of matches during the next cycle of the ICC Men's Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the period 2023-27. The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the FTP on Wednesday, in which the 12 full members play a total of 777 international matches - 173 Tests, 281 ODIs and 323 T20Is - compared to the 694 games in the current cycle. This includes the next two cycles of the ICC Men's World Test Championship, multiple ICC events and a host of bilateral as well as tri-series action.

The Tigers are set to play 150 international matches in the new FTP - 59 ODIs, 57 T20Is and 34 Tests. They are followed by West Indies (147), England (142), India (141), Australia (135), New Zealand (135), Sri Lanka (131), Pakistan (130), Afghanistan (123), Ireland (111), South Africa (110) and Zimbabwe (109).

Bangladesh play New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka at home in the 2023-25 WTC while touring India, Pakistan and the West Indies. In the 2025-27 cycle, they play England, Pakistan and the West Indies at home and have away series scheduled in Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh begin their FTP duty in May 2023 with an away series against Ireland where they play three ODIs and four T20Is. The series will be followed with a home series of two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is against Afghanistan in June.

The Tigers will host New Zealand for three ODIs in September, just before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The Kiwis will be in Bangladesh again after the World Cup to play a two-match Test series in December 2023. Bangladesh will later fly to New Zealand for three ODIs and three T20Is in the same month.

They also have a busy calendar in 2024 during which they host Sri Lanka (two Tests, three ODIS and three T20Is) and Zimbabwe (two Tests and five T20Is) from February to April. The Tigers then play Afghanistan, Pakistan and India in away Tests mid-year. 

Bangladesh will travel to India in September 2024 to play two Tests and three T20Is just after a two-match Test series against Pakistan in August 2024. The Tigers have a total of two Tests, three ODIs and six T20Is scheduled against India while they will play Pakistan in four Tests, six ODIs and six T20Is overall.

A home Test series against South Africa and an away full tour of the West Indies (two Tests, three ODIS and three T20Is) are part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 while the 2025-27 WTC finishes off for them with a challenging two-Test home series against England and a two-Test away series in Australia. 

BCB Chief Executive Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said the board was pleased with the new ICC FTP. 

"The 2023-2027 FTP is very pleasing for Bangladesh. We have received a healthy share of matches against members across formats. This FTP is also a credit to the efforts of the ICC scheduling team and the member Boards and the cooperation between the stakeholders," he said. 

The upcoming cycle of the FTP also features five major ICC events, starting with the Cricket World Cup next year in India.

West Indies and the USA will host the T20 World Cup in 2024, which will be followed by the return of the Champions Trophy in 2025 to be hosted by Pakistan.

India and Sri Lanka will jointly host the T20 World Cup in 2026 and the FTP cycle will be rounded off by the Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2027.

The white-ball bilateral and tri-series will have high stakes as they will count towards the respective team's rankings, which in turn will help decide which teams will qualify for ICC events.

The announcement of the Men's FTP comes a day after the first-ever Women's FTP was announced where Bangladesh women's team are scheduled to play 50 international matches from December 2022 to January 2025.