The International Cricket Council (ICC) has unveiled its Future Tour Program which involves the schedule for the inaugural World Test Championship and the ODI League.

The nine top-ranked Test sides will compete in the Test Championship with each team playing a total of six series on a home-and-away basis. The tournament will be played from July 15 2019 to April 30 2021. Each team will play against mutually selected opponents in the two-year circle.

The two top-ranked teams in the tournament will play the final in June 2021, at Lord’s.

On the other hand, the top eight teams in the ODI League will automatically qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023. The two remaining will be decided through the World Cup Qualifier.

A total of 13 teams will be playing in the ODI League. The World Cricket League Championship-winners, the Netherlands, will play in the tournament alongside the twelve Test playing nations. All the sides will play a total of eight bilateral series on a home-and-away basis against mutually agreed opponents between 1 May 2020 and 31 March 2022.

“The agreement of this FTP means we have clarity, certainty and most importantly context around bilateral cricket over the next five years. The World Test Championship will get underway next year with the ODI league kicking off in 2020 as part of the qualification towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said.

“Bringing context to bilateral cricket is not a new challenge, but with the release of this FTP, our Members have found a genuine solution that gives fans around the world the chance to engage regularly with international cricket that has meaning and the possibility of a global title at the end,” he added.

Bangladesh will play Australia in a two-Test home-series in February 2020. The Tigers had achieved their first-ever win over the Baggy Greens in a Test match last year in a series that was drawn 1-1.

Bangladesh will also get to play a three-Test away-series in Sri Lanka. They had sealed a historic win in their hundredth Test in Sri Lanka last year, which was also their first win against the island nation in the longest format of international cricket.

The other two away series of the Tigers are against India and Pakistan in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Bangladesh will also host New Zealand and West Indies in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

 

World Test Championship schedule (Bangladesh):

November 2019: Two away Tests in India

January-February 2020: Two away Tests in Pakistan