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Bangladesh Cricket Board confirms maiden Test tour of India in 2016
India have toured Bangladesh four times to play Test cricket, including the latter's inaugural Test back in 2000. India's last tour of Bangladesh was in 2010.
Nazmul Hassan, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said that he had signed Members' Participation Agreements (MPA) for four tours with the BCCI. This will also include Bangladesh's maiden Test tour of India in 2016.
Based on the defunct Future Tours Programme between 2012-2020, India were supposed to visit Bangladesh in June 2014 to play ODIs. They were scheduled to tour again in June 2015 to play Tests and ODIs. Bangladesh will come to India for the first time to play Tests in 2016 during to the gap between the World Twent20 Championship and the Champions League T20. India are in agreement that they will visit again in 2020 to play Tests and ODIs.
"We have signed with India that they will visit us in 2014," Hassan was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.com.
"Our main objective was to play more Test matches, and tour the big nations. We have confirmed these so far, because every country has a very tight schedule."
The BCB has also secured MPAs with Cricket Australia for the Aussies to tour in October 2015 which will involve three Tests and in July 2018 when Bangladesh go Down Under to play Tests and ODIs. Australia are also scheduled to tour Bangladesh in 2021.
"We have not signed on it but have principally agreed," Hassan said.
"We have to fix the date with them soon. As for England, we haven't signed anything but they have agreed to honour our FTP till 2020. They have agreed to come twice to Bangladesh."
Th old Future Tours Programme states that England will tour Bangladesh in October 2016. The BCB expects the ECB to sign for the previous scheduled tour and an additional one.
Hassan said that Bangladesh hopes to play more Tests against higher ranked teams as it will give them a chance to rise up in the ICC Test rankings. He said the target is to play 50 Tests in the next six to seven years.
"We will play more cricket now against big teams, and if we win or draw against them, then our ranking will rise. The proposal went as we wanted it. So you can say we are successful."
