India’s long-delayed white-ball tour of Bangladesh could now be pushed to January 2027, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) looking for a fresh window at the beginning of next year as uncertainty continues over the proposed September series. The tour, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is, was originally scheduled for August 2025 before the BCCI and BCB mutually deferred it to September 2026. But with the revised window now approaching, the series appears increasingly unlikely to go ahead as planned.
A BCCI source said discussions with the Indian government were continuing and indicated that January had emerged as a possible alternative. No dates have been finalised, while the BCCI is yet to make an official announcement on another rescheduling.
Clearance still awaited
Government approval has emerged as a crucial factor in determining whether India travel to Bangladesh. Earlier this month, a BCCI source said the board’s relationship with its Bangladeshi counterpart had stabilised but the proposed tour would proceed only after receiving the necessary clearance. The BCB had announced in January that the six matches would be staged in Dhaka and Chattogram. The September plan, however, has run into scheduling difficulties as well, with India set to face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in New Delhi from September 13.
The Bangladesh series has already endured a lengthy wait. India were initially due to visit in August 2025 before both boards agreed to defer the assignment by more than a year.
Cricketing relations subsequently came under additional strain following the release of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL squad and Bangladesh’s decision not to travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
January squeeze
Finding space in January may prove difficult even if political and administrative clearances arrive. India already have a packed home calendar at the start of 2027.
Zimbabwe are scheduled to visit for three ODIs early in January, while Australia’s five-Test tour of India begins in Nagpur on January 21. That leaves only a narrow period in which the Bangladesh assignment could potentially be accommodated without further changes to India’s programme.
There have nevertheless been signs of improving relations between the two cricket boards. BCB president Tamim Iqbal visited India earlier this month and reportedly toured the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, an engagement viewed as a step towards restoring working ties.
India last visited Bangladesh for a bilateral series in 2022. Bangladesh won the three-match ODI contest 2-1, while India responded by sweeping the two-Test series 2-0.
For now, January remains a possibility rather than a confirmed window. Any fresh schedule will have to accommodate India’s crowded international calendar while also securing the government approval that has become central to the fate of the tour.