The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reportedly decided to postpone its upcoming tour of Ireland in September in order to clear a window for the six-match white-ball series at home against India.
As per the Cricbuzz report, Cricket Ireland, which recently published its year-long schedule, notified the Bangladesh Cricket Board that it would be unable to accept a reschedule by 2026.
This happened after the BCB stated that they would be unable to travel in September because they are scheduled to host India around that time. The two boards agreed to postpone the series since both sides were unable to make it work in the September window.
India is slated to come to Bangladesh on August 28 for three ODIs and three T20Is, following the postponement of their intended 2025 tour. According to the Bangladesh Cricket Board's calendar, the ODIs are set for September 1, 3, and 6, followed by T20Is on September 9, 12, and 13.
It was hard for Bangladesh to overlook the India series. According to a BCB spokesperson, the board contacted Cricket Ireland to ask whether the Ireland leg might be rescheduled for a different date in 2026 after the India trip was rescheduled for September.
"When the India series was moved from last year to this September, we asked them (Cricket Ireland) if they could accommodate us at another time in 2026, but they said they were unable to do so. So, the tour has been postponed. They also had some other issues, so we decided to work together to find a new window for the Ireland tour, hopefully sometime next year (2027),” a BCB official told Cricbuzz.
The India series is not just economically beneficial for Bangladesh, but it also gives them a chance to maximize their ODI opportunities before the cut-off for direct qualification to the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Following their 2-1 series victory over Pakistan, Bangladesh moved up to ninth place in the ICC ODI rankings, with 79 rating points—two more than the tenth-place West Indies. The remaining teams will need to go through the qualifying competition; only the top eight teams in the rankings by March 31, 2027, will advance directly.
Bangladesh has done well against India in ODIs, winning their last two ODI series at home. However, everything depends on whether the government of India clears India to tour Bangladesh amid recent diplomatic tensions.
If India decides not to tour Bangladesh, then the Tigers will be left with very few ODIs before the World Cup qualification cut-off.
(Cricbuzz report)
