Bangladesh's performance in the Test format has declined in recent series. They have only one win in the ongoing 2021–2023 ICC Test Championship and have lost eight out of ten matches. Despite the fact that the players haven’t shown viable improvement in the longer-version format, the latest FTP of the ICC may include 34 Tests for Bangladesh in the next two editions of the ICC Test Championship, claims cricket news portal ESPNCricninfo. Who will be Bangladesh's opponents and other major series in the next two editions of the Test Championship are discussed in this article. Bangladesh’s probable opponents in next two editions of the ICC Test Championship Bangladesh will likely play both England and Australia in the 2025-2027 cycles of the ICC Test Championship, which will be two big series for them. England may come to Bangladesh, while Australia's series will be away from home. Bangladesh have a series against Pakistan in both the third and fourth editions of the Test Championship. In addition, Bangladesh will play an away series against India in the 2023–2025 cycle but not one in the 2025–2027 cycle. Here are the probable opponents of Bangladesh in the next two editions of the ICC Test Championship. Read Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket? Bangladesh’s probable opponents in the 2023-2025 ICC Test Championship Opponents Host New Zealand Home South Africa Home Sri Lanka Home India Away West Indies Away Pakistan Away    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read WI vs BAN Series 2022: Top 7 performers from Bangladesh team Bangladesh’s probable opponents in the 2025-2027 ICC Test Championship Opponents Host England Home West Indies Home Pakistan Home Australia Away South Africa Away Sri Lanka Away    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read Pant and Pandya star as India wins ODI series vs. England How many Tests will the other teams play? Like in the first two editions, nine Test playing nations will take part in the third and fourth cycles of the ICC Test Championship. The participating teams are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. Each team will take part in six bilateral Test series, three series at home and three away series. According to ESPNCricinfo, England will play the most Tests (42), followed by Australia (41) and India (38). Surprisingly, Bangladesh will play the fourth highest, with 32 Tests in the next two cycles, while New Zealand will play 32 Tests. The remaining four teams will play fewer than 30 Test matches in the next two editions of the competition. Bottom Line The second edition of the ICC Test Championship will end in March 2023. Bangladesh are in the bottom position in the points standings with one win, and they will likely finish last at the end of the competition. As per ESPNCrincfo’s report, Bangladesh will play 17 or 18 matches in the next two cycles of the Test Championship, allowing them to face some of the toughest opponents in the competition. The BCB should take this opportunity to be more serious about the development of the longer-version format. The Cricket Board should aim to instill a culture of Test cricket in the country so that fans are more interested in the format and players are more motivated to excel on the field. Read BCB finalises next three BPL dates

Half of the second edition of the ICC Test Championship has been completed with the completion of 68 matches. Some memorable batting and bowling performances were witnessed during this period of the 2023 ICC Test Championship. The ICC identified the best five best individual performances in both the batting and bowling departments in order to recognize the players' efforts. Let’s take a look at the best batting and bowling performances so far in the current World Test Championship. Top five batting performances in the 2023 ICC Test Championship There were a few worthy candidates to be named on the list. The ICC picked the best five batting performances after evaluating some of the splendid individual knocks. Tom Latham (252) vs Bangladesh New Zealand were under pressure after losing the first Test of a two-match series against Bangladesh. They needed a commanding batting performance in the second Test. Thankfully, Tom Latham rose to the occasion and made a 252-run knock in the first innings of the Christchurch Test. New Zealand eventually clinched the match by an innings and 117 runs.  Read Shakib to play for Legends of Rupganj in Dhaka League Babar Azam (196) vs Australia The target was 506 for Pakistan, and it apparently seemed impossible. But Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's partnership almost did the impossible. The match eventually ended in a draw. However, Babar Azam’s 196 off 425 balls in his marathon innings was a remarkable effort.  Azhar Ali (185) vs Australia Azhar Ali's 185 runs in the first innings of the series-opening Test in Rawalpindi against Australia was a magnificent effort. The match ended in a draw. Read ICC Test Championship 2023: Mominul Haque among the best all-around performances Joe Root (180) vs India England captain Joe Root scored an undefeated 180* runs against India in the first innings of the second Test of the series at Lord's. This knock was significant because none of the other English batters had fared well in the innings. However, England were defeated by 151 runs in the contest. Ravindra Jadeja (175) vs Sri Lanka India’s Ravindra Jadeja produced a remarkable 175*-run knock in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka last March. His effort helped India score a massive total in the first innings. Sri Lanka eventually conceded an innings defeat. Read Bangladesh likely to tour Australia and England in the forthcoming ICC FTP fixtures Top five bowling performances in the World Test Championship 2023 New Zealand's Ajaz Patel had the most noteworthy individual bowling effort, but he failed to inspire his side to win the contest. Patel is among the three spinners included in the list. Besides, Matt Henry is the lone pacer to make the top five charts. Ajaz Patel (10/119) vs India Ajaz Patel of New Zealand made history by taking 10 wickets in the first innings of the second Test against India at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium. He is only the third bowler in history to take ten wickets in a single innings. Despite the fact that New Zealand lost by 372 runs in the match.  Read Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League 2022: Meet the Favourites Sajid Khan (8/42) vs Bangladesh Bangladesh were all out for only 87 runs in their first innings in response to Pakistan's 300/4d in the second Test in Mirpur, Dhaka. Off-spinner Sajid Khan smothered Bangladesh's batting lineups with his spinning precision. He took eight wickets in that innings, and Pakistan went on to win the match by an innings and eight runs. Matt Henry (7/23) vs South Africa In the first Test of the 2-match series, South Africa were completely outplayed by the hosts, New Zealand, in the first Test. They were twice bowled out for a low total. In the first innings, medium-pacer Matt Henry rattled the Proteas batting order and picked up 7 wickets. New Zealand went on to win the contest by an innings and 276 runs. Read IPL 2022: Delhi’s Mustafizur Rahman eyes to end his wicket drought Keshav Maharaj (7/32) vs Bangladesh Keshav Maharaj was brilliant for South Africa in the 2-match Test series against Bangladesh. In the first Test, Bangladesh had a target of 274 but Maharaj’s spin rattled the Bangladesh batting order. The visitors were bowled out for only 53 runs and lost the match by 220 runs. Keshav picked up 7 wickets in the fourth innings for the hosts. Keshav Maharaj (7/40) vs Bangladesh Like in the first Test, Keshav Maharaj did the same thing in the second Test against Bangladesh. The visitors came out to bat for the fourth innings to chase 413 runs. But they were bowled out for only 80 runs because of Maharaj’s brilliant spin bowling. The left-arm orthodox spinner once again bagged seven wickets in the fourth innings and showed his true potential as a bowler. Bangladesh lost the match by 332 runs. Read ICC Cricket World Cup Super League: Bangladesh's Current Standings, Forthcoming Fixtures Bottom Line The batting and bowling performances stated above are among the finest in this edition of the competition thus far. Individual efforts by these players contributed to their respective teams' dominance over the opposition. The remaining fixtures of the 2023 ICC Test Championship are anticipated to offer even more spectacular and game-changing performances. 

The second edition (2021–2023) of the Test Championship started on August 4, 2021, and the final match is likely to be held on March 31, 2023. According to the schedule, 138 matches will be played between the nine participating teams in the ICC Test Championship 2023. Half of the tournament is already over, with 68 matches completed and 70 more to go. On this occasion, the ICC revealed the best all-round performances so far in this two-year-long tournament. Let’s take a look at who made the cut in the top five all-rounders list.  Top five all-round performances in the ICC Test Championship 2023 The jury board had to go through a detailed analysis to identify the best performances in the all-round category. Because there were a number of brilliant performances and picking the best five is always a challenging task. Here are the best all-round performances picked by the ICC. Read: Bangladesh likely to tour Australia and England in the forthcoming ICC FTP fixtures Ravindra Jadeja vs Sri Lanka (First Test, 4-6 March 2022) In the opening match of the two-match series in Mohali in March of this year, India's all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruthless against Sri Lanka. His all-round display helped India dominate the Lankan side all through the match. Jadeja made 175 runs after coming into bat at No. 7 and carried the first innings total to 574. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for only 174, in which Jadeja bagged a fifer. This time, India forced Sri Lanka to follow on, and this time they made 178. Once again, Jadeja was the main strike bowler for the Indian side and picked up 4 wickets. Overall, Ravindra Jadeja finished the match with 175 runs and a 9/87 bowling figure. India went on to win the contest by an innings and 222 runs.  Read Dhaka Premier League: Super League begins on Monday Matt Henry vs South Africa (First Test, 17-19 February 2022) New Zealand’s pace-bowling all-rounder Matt Henry produced a magical performance against South Africa in the first Test of their 2-match series in Christchurch. His 7-wicket haul in the first innings bowled South Africa out for only 95 runs. In reply, New Zealand made 482, in which Matt Henry played an important 58*-run knock. The defeat was imminent for the Proteas side after a horrible first innings performance. They were bowled out for 111 in the second innings and lost the contest by an innings score of 276 runs. The sensational Matt Henry picked up 9 wickets apart from scoring a half-century in the match. Read Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League 2022: Meet the Favourites Shardul Thakur vs England (Fourth Test, 2-6 September 2021) Shardul Thakur played an important role in India’s 157-run win over England in the fourth Test at the Oval, London. Shardul played a blazing 57-ball knock in the first innings and helped India get past the 150-run barrier. He also made an important 60 runs in the second innings, which helped India set a big target. Apart from scoring runs with the bat, Thakur also bagged 1 wicket in the first innings and 2 wickets in the second innings.   Keshav Maharaj vs Bangladesh (2-match series, 2022) Spin bowling all-rounder Keshav Maharaj was outstanding against Bangladesh in the recently concluded 2-match Test series. He bagged 16 wickets at an average of 12.12 and made 108 runs with the bat. Maharaj’s best bowling figure in the series was 7/32, and he played an important 84-run knock in the first innings of the second Test. He was the most vital player in South Africa’s 2-0 clean sweep over Bangladesh. Read: Anamul hits another fifty as Prime Bank beat Abahani Mominul Haque vs New Zealand (First Test, 1-5 January 2022) Captain Mominul Haque played an important role in Bangladesh’s historic Test match win over New Zealand at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui in January this year. Mominul made 88 runs in Bangladesh’s 458 runs first innings total. He also picked up two crucial wickets in the contest. Mominul removed two of the top scorers from New Zealand's first innings. Bangladesh eventually clinched the match by 8 wickets, where Mominul’s contribution was very much noticeable.   Bottom Line The ICC recognized that the above-mentioned individual all-round performances were truly special. Most importantly, in all cases, the performances helped their respective sides to snatch a victory. As the tournament is heading towards an important stage, there is an expectation that more brilliant all-round displays will be witnessed in the remaining fixtures of the ICC Test Championship 2023. Read Root quits as England test cricket captain after 5 years

The SBNCS, Mirpur is hosting the second match of the Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test Series 2021.  The second and third days of play were canceled due to persistent rain. Thankfully, the weather on day four improved, and play resumed in the first session. Bangladesh will open its account in the ongoing Test Championship if the match ends in a draw. Let's have a look at the second Test match scenario and the latest ICC Test Championship points standings for the 2021-2023 cycle.   Match scenario: BAN vs PAK 2nd Test 2021 In the second session of day 4, Pakistan batted first and declared their first innings on 300/4. Babar Azam, Pakistan's captain, scored the highest 76 runs and had the best 123-run partnership with Azhar Ali in the third wicket. Azhar Ali batted patiently for 56 runs, while Fawad Alam (50*) and Mohammad Rizwan (53*) contributed with the bat as well. Bangladesh's left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took the most wickets with two. Bangladesh lost three quick wickets before the end of the second session and were 22/3 at tea. Bangladesh lost four more wickets in the third session, finishing day four with a score of 76/7. Bangladesh must score 101 runs to avoid a follow-on. If Bangladesh avoid a follow-on, Pakistan will have to bat again. Even though there is a strong chance that this match will finish in a stalemate, there could be some nervous moments on the final day.  Current ICC Test Championship standings (2021-2023 cycle) With the exception of Australia and South Africa, all Test-playing nations have begun their journey in the ICC Test Championship's second edition. Sri Lanka (24 points) currently lead the points table with a 100% winning record, followed by Pakistan (24 points) and India (42 points). Even if Pakistan win the ongoing second match against Bangladesh, they will not climb up to first place in the point standings. On the other hand, Bangladesh would get four points if the second match of the Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test Series 2021 ended in a draw.     England (14 points) are in fourth place, followed by the West Indies (12) and New Zealand (4). Australia's Test Championship campaign will begin on December 8 with the Ashes series. On the other hand, South Africa will begin their first series in the second edition of the Test Championship against India at the end of this year. Bangladesh's remaining Test Championship fixtures Bangladesh's Test Championship campaign has started with a series against Pakistan, and they will play five more Test series in 2022. Bangladesh will play New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and India in a bilateral series. Here are Bangladesh's remaining Test Championship fixtures Bangladesh tour of New Zealand 2022                             1st Test (1-5 January): NZ vs BAN 2nd Test (9-13 January): NZ vs BAN Bangladesh tour of South Africa 2022       1st Test (30 March – 3 April): SA vs BAN   2nd Test (7-11 April): SA vs BAN   Sri Lanka tour of Bangladesh 2022 1st Test (May): BAN vs SL 2nd Test (May): BAN vs SL Bangladesh tour of West Indies 2022 1st Test (June): WI vs BAN 2nd Test (June): WI vs BAN India tour of Bangladesh 2022     1st Test (Nov): BAN vs IND 2nd Test (Nov): BAN vs IND Way Forward The second Test match of the Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test Series 2021 is most likely to end in a draw due to inclement weather conditions. Bangladesh only received 20 points after drawing a Test match in the inaugural ICC Test Championship. They were the bottom team in the first edition of the Test Championship. Therefore, Bangladesh's main goal for the 2021-2023 cycle Test Championship would be to improve further in the point standings.   

Many scheduled matches in the first season of the ICC Test Championship were canceled due to the novel coronavirus. New Zealand eventually won the inaugural ICC Test Championship in June, defeating India by 8 wickets in the final at Lord's Cricket Ground. After a month off, the second edition of the tournament kicked off with a series between England and India in the first week of August. The two-year championship will end on March 31, 2023. Bangladesh's campaign would most likely begin with a series against Pakistan. The details of the ICC Test championship 2021-2023 have been discussed in this article.  ICC Test Championship 2021-2023: Points System and Number of Series The ICC has made several important changes to the points allocation and deduction for the second season of the ICC Test Championship. Read T20 Ranking : How Bangladesh Can Become No. 5 T20I Team at the End of the New Zealand series? In the first edition, every Test series was worth 120 points and those points were evenly distributed between the matches. In a five-match series, a team could have earned 24 points for winning a Test, but a team could have gained 60 points for winning a two-match series. For the 2021-2023 cycle, a win will now be worth 12 points, a draw will be worth four points, and a tie will be worth six points. As a result, a five-Test series will have a total of 60 points available, while a two-Test series will have a maximum of 24 points. The standings will be decided by the percentage of available points earned, like in the previous edition of WTC. Because of these changes, the points table doesn't affect by the cancellation of any matches or series for any reason. Read 100-Ball Cricket Match: Southern Brave Win Inaugural Tournament This year's championship features nine Test-playing nations, like in previous editions. Each team will play a total of six series (3 home series and 3 away series). According to the ICC's calendar, England will play the most Tests with 22, followed by India (19), Australia (18), and South Africa (15). New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies each of the four teams will play 13 Test matches. Bangladesh will compete in 12 Test matches. Bangladesh’s Tentative Fixtures for ICC Test Championship 2021-2023 Bangladesh will begin their ICC Test Championship campaign against Pakistan in November this year after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Sri Lanka will play Bangladesh in a two-match series in December. Read BAN vs. NZ 2021: How Bangladesh Can Clinch the T20I Series Against New Zealand Bangladesh are scheduled to play New Zealand in a Test series at the start of 2022. They will play this series in New Zealand. Bangladesh will travel to South Africa in March 2022 for a two-match WTC. Bangladesh will also play West Indies in their last away WTC series in mid-June. Bangladesh will most likely play India in their last home series of the ICC World Test Championship in November 2020. It should be noted that all of Bangladesh's series are two-match affairs. Read BAN vs. NZ T20I Series 2021: Bangladesh Squad Analysis Bangladesh’s tentative ICC Test Championship 2021-2023 fixtures Date Fixture Matches November, 2021 Bangladesh vs. Pakistan (Home) 2 Tests December, 2021 Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka (Home) 2 Tests January, 2022 New Zealand vs. Bangladesh (Away) 2 Tests March, 2022 South Africa vs. Bangladesh (Away) 2 Tests June, 2022 West Indies vs. Bangladesh (Away) 2 Tests November 2022 Bangladesh vs. India (Home) 2 Tests Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Dubai to Host Epic India-Pakistan Group Stage Match Bottom Line The second edition of the ICC Test championship will be held from August 4, 2021 to March 31, 2023. The ICC has made several changes to the points system in order to improve the competition. Hopefully, cricket fans will be excited about the new points system. Bangladesh did not win a single match in the inaugural edition of the competition. So, Bangladesh's main objective would be to win at least a match in the competition. They have a chance to win their first match in the ICC Test Championship 2021-2023 in the forthcoming series against Pakistan in November. Read ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021: Who Are Favourites?

New Zealand have won the first ICC Test Championship after beating India in the final by 8 wickets on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl, Southampton. There was a reserve day for the championship match in case the rain interrupts during the play. Eventually, the match ended on the sixth day. New Zealand were superb on the final day and they were desperate to win the contest. It was a collective effort that guided New Zealand to win the most prestigious ICC tournament. This article discusses how New Zealand crowned champion after beating India in the inaugural edition of the ICC Test Championship final. ICC Test Championship Final Match Report  Rain disrupted every day of the ICC Test Championship Final between New Zealand and India, and the game was not even held on the first day. As a result, the match lasted till the reserve day.New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opted to bowl first in a swinging condition at the Rose Bowl ground.  The Kiwi pacers were excellent in line and length in the first innings, with neither bowler conceding more than 3 runs per over. Especially, Kyle Jamieson was outstanding in terms of accuracy. He took five wickets for 31 runs, including Rohit Sharma, Rishab Pant, and Captain Virat Kohli. Read BAN vs AUS: How Ashraful, Shakib shocked Australia India were bowled out for 217 after playing 92.1 overs. Ajinkya Rahane was the top scorer (47) for team India, while Virat made 44 runs.  In response, New Zealand scored 249 runs to take a crucial 32-run lead over India in the first innings. Devon Conway led the way with 54 runs, while Captain Kane Williamson chipped in with 49. Fast Bowler Mohammad Shami picked up the highest 4 wickets for India. India had hoped to bat out the whole day on the final day but were bowled out for 170 after the drinks break in the second session. Rishab Pant scored the highest 41 runs for India, while Tim Southee claimed the most four wickets for New Zealand.  Read BAN vs Zim 2021: BCB May Use the Zimbabwe Series as an Opportunity to Find New Talents New Zealand had nearly 50 overs to reach the 139-run winning target. Thanks to 96* runs unbeaten stand between Kane Williamson (52) and Ross Taylor (47) guided New Zealand to the victory in the third session of the sixth day. Spinner Ravi Ashwin snatched both the wickets for India. Pacer Kyle Jamieson was named player of the match after taking seven wickets in the match. Top Performers in the Inaugural ICC Test Championship We saw some incredible performances and unforgettable matches over the course of the two-year-long ICC Test Championship. Here we mentioned some of the top performers in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Most Runs  Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne was the most runs scorer in the Test Championship tournament, He made 1,675 runs in 23 innings with an average of 72.82. England’s Joe Root (1,660) and Aussie middle-order batsman Steven Smith (1,341) came in second and third respectively on the list. Read Who was The Best Captain of Bangladesh Cricket team? Most Wickets India’s off-spinner Ravi Ashwin had the most wickets in the tournament. He picked up 71 wickets with an average of 20.33 in 26 innings. Australia’s Pat Cummins (70) and England’s Stuart Broad (69) were among the top three wicket-takers in the tournament. High Scores  Australia’s David Warner was the only player to score 300 runs in an innings in this tournament. His unbeaten 335* runs against Pakistan was the highest innings of the competition, followed by Zak Crawley (267) and Virat Kohli (254*). Best Bowling Figures  Lankan bowler Lasith Embuldeniya's 7/137 wickets haul against England was the best bowling figure in an innings in the championship. Ravi Ashwin (7/145) and Jasprit Bumrah (6/27) finished second and third respectively on the list. Read:DPL Super League: Abahani overpower Mohammedan Bottom Line  Before winning the Test championship, New Zealand’s biggest achievement on the international stage was winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000. The Kiwis played two back-to-back 50-over World Cup finals in 2015 and 2019 but lost both the finals against the arch-rivals Australia and England respectively. So, New Zealand were desperate to win a major ICC tournament prior to the ICC Test Championship Final against India, and they finally have done it. This New Zealand team is arguably the best ever in their cricket history and they deserve a lot of credit. Read BAN vs. ZIM 2021: Individual Milestones expected to Reach

As part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship, South Africa are now playing a two-match Test series against hosts West Indies. The results of this series will only help the two sides better their positions in the points table as India and New Zealand have already qualified for the Test Championship final. South Africa thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 63 runs in the first Test. Meanwhile, New Zealand have won the Test series against England 1-0 after defeating the hosts by 8 wickets in the second match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. First match between WI, SA In the series-opening Test in St Lucia, the West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite opted to bat first against South Africa in the hope of posting a big total in the first innings. However, his approach backfired as Proteas pacers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi destroyed the West Indies batting order. Nortje bagged 4 wickets and Lungi Ngidi claimed his second 5-wicket haul in Tests.   Read Bangladesh will undergo one-day quarantine in Zimbabwe Coming in to bat in the first innings, South Africa managed to score 322, thanks to Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 141* runs. Aiden Markram (60) and Rassie van der Dussen (46) also played two crucial knocks for the Proteas. Jason Holder (4/75) was the most successful bowler for the West Indies. The West Indies were 225 runs behind at the start of their second innings and needed to perform well to stay alive in the match. But the Caribbeans had struggled again. They were bowled out for 162 and lost the match by an innings and 63 runs. Only Roston Chase played a decent knock of 62-run. Kagiso Rabada (5/34) was the most successful bowler for South Africa in the second innings. Quinton de Kock won the player of the match award for his outstanding knock. The second match of the series will begin on June 18 at St Lucia.   Read Has Shakib learned from his mistakes? Second Test between ENG, NZ In the series-deciding Test in Birmingham, New Zealand beat England by 8 wickets and climbed to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings. Opting to bat first, England managed to score 303 runs in the first innings. Opener Rory Burns (81) and Dan Lawrence (81*) were the highest scorers for them. Kiwi pacer Trent Boult had an outstanding time with the ball; he picked up 4 wickets. New Zealand took a lead of 85 runs after scoring 388 runs in the first innings. Devon Conway (80), Will Young (82) and Ross Taylor (80) all played their part with the bat. Veteran Stuart Broad bagged the highest 4 wickets for England. Read Who is the favourite to win ICC Player of the Month Award for May? England required a big score in the second innings to win the match, but they were bowled out for just 122, thanks to brilliant bowling from Neil Wagner and Matt Henry who bagged 3 wickets each for the Kiwis. New Zealand eventually reached the target of 38 for the loss of 2 wickets and sealed the match and the series. Bottom Line In the WI-SA Test series, the West Indies suffered their 200th Test defeat; South Africa won a longer-version match on foreign soil for the first time after 2017. Meanwhile, one of the finest teams in New Zealand cricket history is performing well across all formats. The Kiwis have reached the final of the inaugural ICC Test Championship and played the previous two ICC Cricket World Cup finals. After winning the Test series against England, New Zealand will play the ICC Test Championship final against India as the favourites. Read How New Zealand can become world's No.1 Test team ahead of WTC final against India

The ICC has decided that significant alterations will be made to the format of Cricket World Cup events, which will be staged between 2024 and 2031. The revisions were finalized on Tuesday (June 1) at the ICC meeting. Decisions include the number of teams to compete in the 50-over and the T20 format World Cups, the format in which the tournaments will be contested, and the number of ICC Test Championships to be conducted during this period. The format of the World Cup events as well as other issues that were addressed during the meeting are discussed in this article.  ICC's decisions on Cricket World Cup formats, Test Championship The governing body of world cricket, ICC has finally agreed to raise the number of teams competing in World Cup competitions. Accordingly, 14 teams will compete in the ODI World Cups between 2024 and 2031. Similarly, the T20 World Cup will have 20 teams, which will be held every two years starting from 2024. Four world cups (2024, 2026, 2026, and 2030) will take place in this period.  Read: DPL T20 2021: Shakib Al Hasan Shines in First Round  Apart from that, the ICC made a number of other significant decisions during this meeting. The ODI Champions Trophy will be re-launched, while the Test Championship will be continued. The next two Champions League tournaments will take place in 2025 and 2029 respectively. This elite tournament will include the top eight teams in the ICC rankings. The format of the Champions Trophy will remain unchanged. The second season of the ICC Test championship will start after the upcoming final match of the first season. The final of the first season between India and New Zealand will be held from June 18 to 22 in Southampton, England. Like the inaugural season, the duration of each season is two years. That means the finals will be held in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031 respectively. Read: Top 5 Most Followed Athletes Across Social Media Platforms  The ODI World Cups in 2027 and 2031 will include a total of 54 matches. In addition, the format has been modified. Like the 2003 edition, the World Cup will be played in a Super Six round format. There will be two groups in the first round and seven teams in each group will fight against each other. Three teams will proceed to the Super Six or the second round from there.  On the other side, the T20 World Cup will include 55 matches in total and its format has also been modified. Four groups of 20 teams will compete against each other in the first round. There will be five teams in each group. Two teams will advance to the Super Eight or the second round from there. Read BCB reveals new schedule for Dhaka League Meanwhile, the fate of the upcoming T20 World Cup was also discussed at the ICC meeting. India will not be able to host the T20 World Cup in November-December window due to the outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus. So, the ICC is considering the UAE and any suitable country in the Middle East as an alternative venue. However, no final decision has yet been made in this regard.  Bottom Line The International Cricket Council is dedicated to organizing the Cricket World Cup events and the ICC Test Championship on a regular basis. The ICC aims to provide its associate member nations more opportunities to compete in the all formats World Cup in order to increase cricket's popularity. In addition to Test-playing nations, a significant number of associate members will compete in the world cups, which will be contested between 2024 and 2031. It is hoped that this would help to boost cricket's appeal across the world.  Read: Dhaka Premier Division T20 Cricket League 2021: Confirmed Fixtures 

The much-anticipated first ICC Test Championship final will finally take place in the third to fourth week of June, after overcoming obstacles such as the fear of coronavirus outbreak, scheduling ambiguity, the proper implementation of the points system, and a slew of other challenges. The top two teams in the ICC Test rankings India and New Zealand will compete in the final of the first edition of the tournament. From that perspective, the best two Test teams of the competition will meet in the championship match. Who will win the ICC Test Championship in 2021 is discussed in this article. How the journey of the ICC Test Championship started The ICC (International Cricket Council) believes that interest in Test cricket is fading because of the popularity of One Day International as well as twenty20 format. They launched the ICC World Test Championship in 2019 in order to raise the interest in the longer version format among the global cricket fans.  Read: Bangladesh's Predicted XI: If ODI and Test Teams Played on the Same Day As per some studies, cricket fans are becoming more interested in this format after the launch of the ICC Test Championship, as there is a possibility of winning a trophy. The International Cricket Council has been working on popularizing Test cricket for a long time. They intended to do that by having a new World Cup for the longer version format, similar to the ICC ODI and T20 World Cup. After being pushed back twice, the two-year-long Test Championship tournament officially began on August 1, 2019, with the Ashes series between England and Australia. The series eventually ended 2-2. A notable number of Test series were later canceled due to the outbreak of pandemic covid-19 but not the first ICC World Test Championship.  The participant teams of the championship The top nine teams in the ICC Test rankings have taken part in this Test championship. India, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the West Indies, and Bangladesh are among the teams competing. It's also important to keep in mind that the Test championship's inaugural season does not include the teams from Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, or Ireland. Each one of the nine teams was set to play six series, three at home and three away but not all the series was held because of Coronavirus. Each series consists of two to five matches.To put it another way, each team had the same number of series to play, but not the same number of matches. Every match in the two-match series is worth 60 points, while each match in the five-match series is worth 24 points. If the match is tied, half points are added, and if the match is a draw, one-third point is added. According to FTP fixtures, the tournament would feature 71 Tests across 27 series, and the top two teams in the point table would play the final at Lord's in June 2021. There were expected to be 72 matches in all, including the final one.  Read: Ban vs SL 2021: How Bangladesh can clinch the ODI series against Sri Lanka The way India and New Zealand secured the final of the tournament The Indian cricket team played six series in this tournament, winning five and drawing the other.They whitewashed the Windies (2-0), South Africa (3-0), and Bangladesh (2-0) in their first three Test Championship series. But handed a 2-0 series defeat against New Zealand in early 2020. India came back strong during their away tour in Australia last year December and clinched the series 2-1. India also won the home series against England by 3-1. India won a total of 520 out of 720 points and finished top of the ICC World Test Championship points table. On the other hand, New Zealand played five series, winning three, drawing one, and losing one.New Zealand has had a relatively quiet start in this Test Championship. They tied their first series (1-1) against Sri Lanka and lost their second series (3-0) to their arch-rivals Australia in December 2019. New Zealand then bounced back with victories over India (2-0), the Windies (2-0), and Pakistan (2-0).The Blackcaps came second in the ICC Test Championship points table with 420 points out of 600 to their name.  Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka ODI series 2021: Expected personal milestones to Reach Who is the favorite to win the ICC Test Championship 2021? New Zealand will have a slight advantage in the upcoming final even though India finished top in the group stage points table. New Zealand's confidence will be boosted ahead of the final by England's bouncy wicket, familiar weather, excellent pace attack, and batting skills of the lower order. On the other hand, India would benefit if a sporting wicket is made in the Rose Bowl. In big matches, captains usually want to bowl first if they win the toss. However, if the pitch is green, the captains may choose to bowl in the hopes of quickly picking up wickets. In that case, the Kiwis will enjoy more advantages. The players are usually under a lot of pressure to play in the final because of the high expectations. So, it doesn't matter who is stronger on paper because you would not be able to prevail if you are unable to play at your best. Overall, the two teams will face off in a tough battle. The ICC Test Championship final will be held at the Rose Bowl cricket ground in Southampton from the 18th to the 22nd of June this year. The two participating teams will be declared joint champions if the final is tied or a draw.  Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka series 2021: ODI Ranking Prediction Verdict There is a common saying that no matter how strong the competitor is, anyone can win the final if they give it their all. Predicting who will win the ICC Test Championship 2021 is difficult because both teams have equal chances. However, since the top two teams are competing in the final, we can expect a thrilling battle. In that case, the captain who wins the toss will gain a competitive advantage, and the pitch will also have a major impact on the outcome of the match. But neutral cricket fans would want the best team to lift the trophy.

Bangladesh lost the two-match Test series to Sri Lanka (1-0) after losing the series decider match by a huge 209-run margin on Sunday at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. Bangladesh showed no aggression against the hosts during the second match. Both Shakib and Mustafizur were unable to play in the Test series because of their commitments to the IPL 2021. Bangladesh had struggled against the Lankans because of their absence, but the rest of the players should have taken more responsibility in order to clinch the series. Here is the Bangladesh team report card at the end of the BAN v SL Test series. Bangladesh team performance breakdown against Sri Lanka Test series 2021  Batting/Top order Saif Hassan and Najmul Hossain were inconsistent in batting The experienced opener Tamim Iqbal was consistent with the bat, but the other two top-order batsmen Saif Hassan and Nazmul Hossain Shanto were not consistent at all. Nazmul Hossain provided a glimpse of hope by scoring 163 runs in the first innings of the first Test, but he went on to score 0, 0, and 26 in the next three innings.On the other hand, young opener Saif Hassan made just 60 runs in 4 innings. Despite the fact that two young batsmen were unable to take advantage of Pallekele's batting-friendly wicket, but veteran Tamim was successful with the bat. Tamim hit a half-century in the first three innings of the series. Twice he was out in the nervous 90. His lowest score on the tour was 26 in the last innings of the second Test. Tamim scored the second-highest 260 runs at an average of 93.33 in 4 innings.Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne scored the most 428 runs in the series. Even though Tamim got runs, Bangladeshi fans are disappointed with his overall batting performance. Because Bangladesh campaign expects big innings from experienced cricketers like Tamim. In both matches, Kandy's wicket was helpful for the batters and Tamim should have played a big innings on such a pitch. But he failed to play a big knock despite starting well on at least two occasions, which was unacceptable.  Read: BAN v SL ODI 2021: How Bangladesh Can Rank Top in ICC ODI Super League Batting/Middle-Order Captain Mominul was the only consistent performer in the middle order Aside from Captain Mominul Haque, no Bangladeshi middle-order batsman performed well in the series. He scored the third most 231 runs at an average of 77 in this series. Skipper Mominul played an effective 127-run knock in the first innings of the first Test. Mr. Dependable Mushfiqur Rahim batted for one innings in the first Test. In that innings, he was unbeaten on 68 *. But Mushfiqur was unable to play a big knock in both innings of the second Test. There was a lot of expectation from a batsman like him at the crucial stage, but he couldn't deliver. Wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das also struggled with the bat. He scored 75 runs in 3 innings.  Read: Bangladesh’s Greatest XI in Test cricket based only on Stats Bowling/Pace Pacer Taskin Ahmed back to his best Taskin Ahmed's return to his former glory was the biggest success in this series for Bangladesh. In both games, he was at his best. Bangladesh fielders missed several opportunities of Taskin's deliveries but he did not give up. The right-arm medium pacer tried again and again in the hopes of success. As a result, he finished the series with the most wickets among Bangladeshi bowlers. Taskin took 8 wickets in 3 innings and his best bowling figure was 4/127. After such a performance, fans can expect to see Taskin in the Bangladesh Test XI on a regular basis. Although Taskin did well, Bangladesh's other fast bowlers were disappointing in the series. Both Abu Jayed Rahi and Ebadot Hossain were ineffective. Debutant young left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam bowled 30 overs in his first match and took one wicket for 99 runs at a 3.30 economy rate. Read: Potential Young Players Who Could Rule World Cricket This Decade Bowling/Spin Taijul Islam was the only Bangladeshi bowler to take five wickets in an innings in this series Bangladesh's spin bowlers were relatively quiet in this series. Miraj had a total of four wickets in three innings, with an economy rate of 3.19. On the other side, like pacer Taskin, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took a total of 8 wickets in the series. He is the only Bangladeshi bowler in the series to take five wickets (5/62) in an innings. He accomplished this feat in the first innings of the second Test. Besides that, Taijul Islam was the most economical (3.10) among Bangladeshi bowlers.  Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Five Times When Bangladesh Stun Sri Lanka Fielding Bangladesh's fielding did not improve much in the Test series against Sri Lanka. Missed catches and misfielding were usual scenarios in the series. Cricketers must improve their physical fitness in order to play five-day cricket. Otherwise, it's impossible to expect better outcomes in ground fielding. Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Top five memorable performances in Test Cricket Bottom Line The Bangladesh team report card reveals that, with the exception of a few players, none of the other players had satisfactory performances in the series. Prior to the series, it was expected that Mominul Haque-led Bangladesh team would perform well, but their overall performance, especially in the second match was utterly disappointing. They should have played much better this series to regain confidence in the Test format. Bangladesh's next series will be at home against Sri Lanka. Team Tigers' will play 3 ODIs against Sri Lanka which is also part of ICC's World Cup ODI Super League.