India head to Bangladesh in September 2026 for a white-ball tour that fans have been waiting on for over a year.
Originally scheduled for August 2025, the series was postponed and rescheduled more than once before finally landing a confirmed slot.
Here is everything you need to know before the two sides meet.
Quick Facts Summary
- Dates: September 1 – 13, 2026 (India arrives August 28)
- Format: 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is
- ODI dates: September 1, 3, 6
- T20I dates: September 9, 12, 13
- Venues: To be officially confirmed, likely Mirpur and/or Chattogram
- Originally scheduled for: August 2025, postponed due to political instability in Bangladesh
- Historic first: India’s first-ever bilateral T20I series played in Bangladesh
- India captains: Shubman Gill (ODI), Shreyas Iyer (T20I)
- Bangladesh captains: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (ODI), Litton Das (T20I)
When Is India’s Tour of Bangladesh 2026?
The tour runs from September 1 to September 13, 2026, with the Indian team expected to arrive in Bangladesh on August 28 to begin preparations. The tour consists of three One Day Internationals followed by three Twenty20 Internationals, spread across nearly two weeks.
Full Schedule: ODI and T20I Dates
ODI Series
- 1st ODI: September 1, 2026
- 2nd ODI: September 3, 2026
- 3rd ODI: September 6, 2026
T20I Series
- 1st T20I: September 9, 2026
- 2nd T20I: September 12, 2026
- 3rd T20I: September 13, 2026
Match venues had not been officially confirmed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board at the time of this writing, though Bangladesh’s two most commonly used international venues, the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur (Dhaka) and the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, are the most likely hosts based on how recent series against India have been structured. Fans should check for official venue confirmation closer to the tour.
Why Was This Series Postponed? The Full Backstory
This tour has an unusually long and complicated history for a bilateral white-ball series. It was originally slated to take place from August 17 to 31, 2025, with matches planned across Mirpur and Chattogram, and was billed at the time as a milestone occasion since Virat Kohli was expected to return to international cricket during the series.
However, the tour ran into trouble well before it could begin. Bangladesh had gone through major political upheaval in August 2024, when a student-led uprising toppled the government of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India as an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took charge. With elections in Bangladesh not expected until early 2026, BCCI reportedly wanted the tour to go ahead only once “a stable government is in place taking care of the law and order situation,” according to sources cited at the time. The tour also needed clearance from the Indian government given the circumstances.
By early July 2025, the BCCI and BCB jointly confirmed the postponement. Both boards were careful to frame the decision diplomatically, with the BCCI stating that the call was made “following discussions between the two boards, taking into account the international cricketing commitments and scheduling convenience of both teams.” The BCB, for its part, said it looked forward to welcoming India in September 2026. Exact revised dates were not confirmed until January 2026, when the BCB announced Bangladesh’s full home international calendar for the year and locked in the September window.
The Historic First: India’s First-Ever Bilateral T20I Series in Bangladesh
One detail that makes this tour genuinely significant: this will be the first-ever bilateral T20I series between India and Bangladesh actually played on Bangladeshi soil. Despite the two nations having faced off many times in T20Is over the years, most of those meetings have come at neutral venues or during multi-team tournaments like the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, or on India’s home turf. India’s senior men’s team has also not toured Bangladesh for a white-ball-only series in a long time, with their most recent visit before this one coming in the 2022–23 season, which included a Test series alongside ODIs rather than the white-ball-only format used this time.
Head-to-Head Record: India vs Bangladesh
India hold a commanding overall record against Bangladesh across formats, though the rivalry has produced some memorable upsets over the years.
In ODIs: India lead the head-to-head count comfortably, though Bangladesh has managed a handful of notable wins, including a bilateral series victory on Bangladeshi soil in the past. Bangladesh’s ODI side has grown considerably more competitive over the last decade compared to earlier eras of the rivalry.
In T20Is: India have been dominant, winning the vast majority of meetings between the two sides. Bangladesh’s most memorable T20I win over India came in Delhi in 2019, a rare bright spot in an otherwise one-sided format matchup. India’s most recent T20I series against Bangladesh, played in 2024, ended in a clean 3-0 sweep for India.
Given this history, India will enter the 2026 tour as clear favourites in both formats, though Bangladesh have shown in recent years that they are capable of springing surprises on home soil, particularly in ODIs.
Who Are the Captains?
As of the most recent squads named by both boards, Shubman Gill captains India in ODIs, while Shreyas Iyer was named India’s new T20I captain in mid-2026, taking over from Suryakumar Yadav following a review of leadership after a mixed run of results. Given how frequently India’s white-ball captaincy has shifted over the past year, it’s worth double-checking the confirmed squad announcement closer to the tour for any last-minute changes.
For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been leading the ODI side, while Litton Das has held the T20I captaincy since early 2025, after Najmul Hossain Shanto stepped down from the shorter format to focus on Tests and ODIs. Shanto remains Bangladesh’s Test captain and a senior figure in the squad across formats.
Squad Announcements
Official squads for this specific tour had not been announced at the time of writing. Both the BCCI and BCB typically confirm touring squads two to three weeks before a series begins, so expect announcements to follow in mid-to-late August 2026. This section will need updating once squads are confirmed.
Where to Watch India vs Bangladesh 2026
Broadcast rights for this specific tour had not yet been confirmed at the time of writing. Based on how recent India-Bangladesh series have been covered, fans can generally expect:
- In India, Star Sports has held broadcast rights for India’s recent bilateral tours, with streaming available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.
- In Bangladesh, matches are typically shown on domestic sports broadcasters along with the BCB’s own digital channels.
- Regional broadcasters in other markets typically pick up rights closer to the tour date.
Check official BCCI and BCB channels for confirmed broadcast details as the series approaches.
Conclusion
Beyond the historic significance of finally hosting a bilateral T20I series on home soil, this tour arrives at an important point in the calendar for both teams. For India, the series offers a chance to fine-tune white-ball combinations under a leadership group that has seen real turnover in 2026, with both the ODI and T20I captaincies having changed hands over the past year. For Bangladesh, hosting India after a long and politically turbulent stretch carries symbolic weight well beyond the cricket itself, marking a return to normalcy in international scheduling after the uncertainty that forced the original 2025 tour to be shelved.
Lucky Raina is a complete cricket writer chasing corporate dreams by day and cricket stories by night. Once a promising Under 16 cricketer, life took him down a different pitch but the love for the game never left.
