The calm before the storm

Bangladesh's national players might have complained about the lack of international cricket for the last seven months or so, but following the Eid break the scenario is set to change completely.

With so many matches scheduled in the coming months, the Tigers will want to make the most of their week-long holiday, because it does not seem like they will be able to enjoy too many over the next year.

After they return to Dhaka, the players will kick-start the new season with the National Cricket League (NCL) and the Afghanistan series, both of which are scheduled to begin on September 25.

While a number of the national Test players will be involved in the first two rounds of the NCL, the other national players will be busy playing against Mohammad Nabi and co. The three ODIs against Afghanistan will take place on September 25, 28 and October 1.

Meanwhile, England are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on September 30. They will begin the tour with two ODIs in Dhaka on October 7 and 9 respectively. They will then travel to Chittagong to play the final ODI on October 12. By November 1, the two Tests against England will be over. In the meantime, the domestic players will get done with the NCL.

Three days on, and the cricketers, both national and domestic, will be busy with the Bangladesh Premier League, the most high-profile T20 competition of the country. With seven franchises taking part in the competition this time, the league is expected to run for at least five weeks.

By the time the BPL ends in December, the national players will need to gear up for their New Zealand series, where they will be playing three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests from December 26 to January 24.   

After the New Zealand series the national players will probably get a week-long break at the most. Because they will need to get ready for the Hyderabad Test against India which is set to take place from February 8 to February 12.

The first real breather for the national players, as per the current schedule, is expected to arrive after the India series. As of now, the Tigers do not have any series scheduled between February 12, 2017 and May 12, 2017.

However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), according to reports, is trying to arrange a series against Sri Lanka during this three-month period. It is still not certain if it will be a home or away series. During this break, the BCB is likely to host a domestic tournament as well, which will further keep the cricketers busy.

From May 12, 2017 to June, 2017, Bangladesh will be involved in a tri-nation series involving Ireland and New Zealand and the much awaited Champions Trophy in England.

And as per the Future Tours Programme, the tours do not just end there. In July, Bangladesh is expected to host Pakistan. In August they might go to Australia and in October they are likely to go to South Africa.