New Delhi: Bangladesh will play their first-ever Test match in India next February, a top cricket official said on Wednesday.
Although India have crossed the border to Bangladesh, the Tigers have never played a five-day match on Indian soil since they gained Test status in 2000, mainly because of scheduling clashes.
Bangladesh have featured in two limited-overs tournaments in India – the Champions Trophy qualifiers in 2006 and the World Twenty20 this year.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur called the upcoming match a historic occasion and a “great addition” to India’s home season.
“As a leading Test-playing nation, it is BCCI’s responsibility to give opportunity to every Test-playing nation,” he said in a statement.
India are currently second in the International Cricket Council Test rankings while Bangladesh are ninth.
Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Nazmul Hassan said the match would be a memorable experience for players and fans of both countries.
“The long wait for us to play a Test match on Indian soil is finally over and this is a time for celebration,” he said in the same statement.
The one-off match will be played in the southern city of Hyderabad from February 8 to 12.
India have won six of their eight Tests against Bangladesh, while two have ended in draws.
India have a crowded 2016-17 home season with the hosts set to play as many as 13 Tests against top sides including Australia and England.
Meanwhile, Thakur has voiced opposition to controversial plans for a two-tier Test system being considered by the game’s governing body, a report said Wednesday.
The BCCI president told a newspaper that smaller nations would lose out on revenue and the chance to compete against the top teams.
“The BCCI is against the two-tier Test system because the smaller countries will lose out and the BCCI wants to take care of them. It is necessary to protect their interests,” The New Indian Express, a Chennai-based daily, quoted him as saying.
“In the two-tier system, they will lose out on a lot, including revenue and the opportunity to play against top teams. We don’t want that to happen.
“We want to work in the best interests of world cricket and that is why our team plays against all the countries.”