Bangladesh to play first ever Test match in India
Since gaining their Test status in 2000, Bangladesh will finally play their first Test in India during the 2016/17 home season. India will thus become the last of the Test-playing nations to host Bangladesh in a Test match/series. The announcement was made following the BCCI's Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee meeting in Mumbai.
According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Test match will be played in Hyderabad. However, the governing body has not announced any date for the Test. The BCCI had announced the lone Test against Bangladesh along with the rest of the Test matches scheduled for the whole of home season in 2016/17.
Bangladesh had played their first ever Test match against India at Dhaka in November 2000. The Tigers have played eight Test matches against India, with all of them being played in Bangladesh. India won six of those while two of them ended in a draw.
After the BCCI had announced that the Test against Bangladesh would happen in 2016, it had been told that it would be postponed to 2017 owing to a hectic schedule. However, it seems like the Test could be played India tours the Caribbean.
After India's Test tour of West Indies in July, India are set to host New Zealand, England and, Australia. It remains to be seen if the Test will be held between two of the scheduled series or if it will happen after the end of the Australia series.
India's 2016/17 season is set to have 13 Tests in all which is the joint highest ever that has been held in India. The last time India hosted these many Tests was during the 1979/80 season.
Hyderabad has hosted only three Test matches since being established in 2004. The first Test was held against New Zealand in 2010 that ended in a draw. The next two Tests were held in 2012 and 2013 against New Zealand and Australia respectively.
India will look to assert their dominance when they host The Tigers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in 2017 while Bangladesh will be hoping to move up in the longer format of the game and earn their first win against India.