The reaction is absolutely natural and understandable, given that Bangladesh have toured all the Test-playing nations for bilateral series' in these 17 years except for India.
But for the majority of the Bangladesh cricketers and the members of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, it is only just another Test match. For them, the only significance of the tour is that they would get to contest a Test match. The fact that India have never hosted Bangladesh before is the last thing on the minds of the cricketers.
It goes without saying that Bangladesh will be determined to put up their best performance. For Mushfiqur Rahim and his troop, a good performance will mean that they have left a mark on Indian soil. In that case, there are high chances that the Tigers would be hosted by India on a regular basis in future.
Over the past 10 years or so, the two nations have developed an interesting and exciting contest on the field, despite India winning more often than not. With the rivalry between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in tatters, due to the political relation between the two countries, the governing bodies of Bangladesh and India have the option of producing yet another sub-continental rivalry.
And with the latest proposed revamp in the ICC's structure, a future rivalry between the two teams is well and truly a possibility.
International cricket is preparing for a radical shake-up of its calendar after top executives of the regulatory bodies around the world agreed on proposals that provide more context for all three formats in a recent ICC meeting. These proposals will be discussed in the next ICC board meeting in April, 2019.
Cricket might see a rolling two-year Test league with a 9-3 format, where the top nine Test countries compete among themselves and against the three lower-ranked teams comprising Zimbabwe and most likely Ireland and Afghanistan.
The Chief Executive Committee also approved a three-year, 13-team ODI league, the culmination of which will result in qualification for the 50-over World Cup, and a system of regional qualification tournaments through which teams attempt to qualify for the World T20. These proposals are likely to open new doors to a bilateral relationship between the two boards.
Bangladesh touring India is a new dimension added to the bilateral ties between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the BCB and with the proposed structure in the offing, these two boards can always make the best use of it.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
