South Africa became the latest name to end a long wait for glory, breaking their 27-year trophy drought. Yesterday at Lord’s, Temba Bavuma’s team defeated Australia by five wickets to claim the Test Championship crown. With South Africa’s triumph, the third edition of the World Test Championship has come to a close.
But there’s no time to rest, as the fourth cycle of the Test Championship (2025-27) is already underway — starting with Bangladesh. On June 17, Najmul Hossain’s side will begin the new cycle against Sri Lanka in Galle. The two teams will play their second and final Test on June 25 in Colombo. This series marks the first in the new cycle.
Though Bangladesh has been playing Test cricket for nearly 25 years, their record has not been impressive. However, since the inception of the Test Championship, their performance has steadily improved.
In the first cycle (2019-21), the team failed to win a single match. The second cycle (2021-23) offered little consolation beyond a historic win at Mount Maunganui. Bangladesh finished at the bottom of the points table in both cycles.
The third cycle (2023-25), however, has been more encouraging. Out of 12 Tests played, Bangladesh won four. Highlights include their dominant series win over Pakistan on Pakistani soil last year. They finished seventh in the points table, ahead of Pakistan and the West Indies. Across all three cycles, Bangladesh played 31 Tests, winning five, drawing two, and losing 24.
What lies ahead? Before heading to Sri Lanka, captain Najmul expressed optimism at a press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. “We won four matches in the last cycle. We have improved a bit. Our goal for this cycle will be to win one or two more matches,” he said. How far they’ll go remains to be seen.
Like previous cycles, nine teams are competing, each playing six series — three at home and three away. The points system remains unchanged: 12 points for a win, 4 for a draw, and 6 for a tie.
The number of matches this cycle has increased by one compared to the last two. Including the final, there will be 71 matches spread over 27 series. Each series will have between two and five Tests.
The final is also proposed to be held at Lord’s in June 2027. Prior to that, New Zealand will play two Tests in Pakistan in March 2027.
Australia will play the most Tests this cycle (22), followed by England with 21. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will play the fewest — 12 each — and the cycle begins with Bangladesh’s series against Sri Lanka. In 2025, this will be Bangladesh’s only Test series. The rest — five series featuring Najmul, Mushfiq, and Taijul — will be in 2026 and 2027, all two-match series.
In 2026, Bangladesh’s first series will be at home against Pakistan in March, followed by a tour to Australia in August. This will be Bangladesh’s first Test series in Australia since 2003.
The second home series will be in October 2026, hosting the West Indies, followed by a tour to South Africa in November. Bangladesh’s final series of the cycle will be at home against England in February 2027, marking their first home series against England since 2016.
An encouraging fact is that out of the six teams Bangladesh will face this cycle, they remained unbeaten against four in their most recent series. They drew series against Australia, England, and the West Indies and crushed Pakistan 2-0 in a two-match series. Their series losses came against Sri Lanka and the current champions South Africa.
