First of all, Happy New Year.
After having a decent 2018 in which Virat Kohli
and his men travelled overseas and challenged their opponents, they
will down to business on just the third day of the year as they play
their first match of 2019 on January 3.
The next 365 days will witness India taking part in nine Test matches, a minimum of 31 ODIs (33 if India reach the World Cup final) and 17 T20Is.
Let us take a look at the complete schedule of the Indian cricket team in 2019.
India tour of Australia 2018-19
India's 2019 will get underway with the New Year Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney as a part of the four-match Test series.
Once the match gets over on January 7, both the teams take on each
other in a three-match ODI series that starts on January 12 and ends on
January 18, bringing India's two-month trip Down Under to an end.
Schedule:
January 3-7: Australia vs India, fourth Test, SCG, Sydney January 12: Australia vs India, first ODI, SCG, Sydney January 15: Australia vs India, second ODI, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
January 18: Australia vs India, third ODI, MCG, Melbourne.
India tour of New Zealand
Following
the tour of Australia, India will travel across the Tasmanian sea to
take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI Series that gets underway on
January 23 and after the completion of the series, both the teams will
play a three-match T20I series that gets over on February 10. January 23: New Zealand vs India, first ODI, McLean Park, Napier January 26: New Zealand vs India, second ODI, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui January 28: New Zealand vs India, third ODI, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui January 31: New Zealand vs India, fourth ODI, Seddon Park, Hamilton February 3: New Zealand vs India, fifth ODI, Westpac Stadium, Wellington February 6: New Zealand vs India, first T20I, Westpac Stadium, Wellington February 8: New Zealand vs India, second T20I, Eden Park, Auckland February 10: New Zealand vs India, third T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton
Australia tour of India
After
spending close to three months in the southern hemisphere, the Indian
team will be happy to return home where they play a short limited-overs
series against Australia as a preparation for the 2019 World Cup. The
tour that will have as many as five ODIs and two T20Is, will get
underway on February 24 and will end on March 13. February 24: India vs Australia, first ODI, Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
February 27: India vs Australia, second ODI, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad March 2: India vs Australia, third ODI, VCA Stadium, Nagpur March 5: India vs Australia, fourth ODI, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi March 8: India vs Australia, fifth ODI, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi March 10: India vs Australia, first T20I, M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru March 13: India vs Australia, second T20I, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Zimbabwe tour of India
For the first time in over 15 years, Zimbabwe are scheduled to tour
India and will take part in one Test and three ODIs. The schedule for
the series is yet to be announced. However, the tour could be in
jeopardy as the IPL is slated to get underway in the middle of March and
dates could get clashed if the T20 extravaganza starts early.
In all likelihood, this could be MS Dhoni's last series as a player in India.
Indian Premier League 2019
The
2019 IPL is expected to get underway in March and get over by the
second or third week of May in a bid to give the players some breather
ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The tentative window for the IPL is from
March 29 till May 19. In all likelihood, the tournament might not take
place in India due to the General Elections and South Africa are in pole
position to host the tournament while there are chances of UAE hosting
it too.
ICC 2019 World Cup
Following
the 2019 IPL, India will take part in the 2019 ICC World Cup along with
nine other teams including the defending champions Australia, the 2017
ICC Champions Trophy winners Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West
Indies, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan and hosts England. The
tournament will get underway on May 30 and will take place all the way
till July 14. India will face every single team once in the league stage
and if they finish in the top-4, they will qualify for the semis.
World Test Championships: India tour of West Indies
Following
the World Cup, India will be touring the West Indies for two Tests,
three ODIs and three T20Is and the itinerary for the tour is yet to be
announced by Windies Cricket. It should be noted that the two-match Test
series will be a part of the World Test Championship that gets underway
with this series and goes all the way till 2021.
World Test Championships: South Africa tour of India
Following
the tour of West Indies in August, the Indian cricketers will get a
month-long break before they get on the road again. They will kick their
home Test season with a three-match Test series against South Africa
which will be a part of the World Test Championships. It should be noted
that the Proteas just tour India to play Tests and will come back in
February 2020 for the limited-overs leg.
World Test Championships: Bangladesh tour of India
Immediately
after the three-match Test series against South Africa, India will host
Bangladesh as a part of the World Test Championship in November. The
Asian rivals will take on each other in two Tests and three T20Is in
India and this series will mark the end of India's Test matches this
year.
West Indies tour of India
India
will end 2019 by hosting West Indies in a limited-overs leg in
December. It has been announced that the tour will have three ODIs and
three T20Is between the teams but the itinerary for the same is yet to
be released.
By the end of the series, India would have played a maximum of 98 days of international cricket in the year.
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