The Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026 runs from August 6 to August 26, and it packs a warm-up game plus two Tests across Darwin and Mackay.
This marks Bangladesh’s first Test trip to Australia in 23 years, and it carries real weight in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle.
Australia sit on top of the table right now, while Bangladesh are climbing fast after a series sweep over Pakistan.
Below, you get the complete schedule, both squads, venue history, the head-to-head record, and where to watch every ball from India.
Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026: Full Schedule and Timings
Three matches make up this tour. One practice game opens things up, and then two Tests decide the series while adding crucial World Test Championship points.
| Match | Date | Venue | IST Start Time | Local Start Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up: Cricket Australia XI vs Bangladesh | Aug 6-8, 2026 | Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin | 6:00 AM | 10:00 AM (ACST) |
| 1st Test: Australia vs Bangladesh | Aug 13-17, 2026 | Marrara Stadium, Darwin | 6:00 AM | 10:00 AM (ACST) |
| 2nd Test: Australia vs Bangladesh | Aug 22-26, 2026 | Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay | 5:30 AM | 10:00 AM (AEST) |
The tour opener is a three-day fixture, and both boards agreed to a 13-a-side format, so it will not carry first-class status.
Sam Konstas, Campbell Kellaway, and Kurtis Patterson headline the Cricket Australia XI, each hoping to push a case for a Test recall.
Why the Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026 Matters for the WTC Race
Every session here adds or subtracts World Test Championship points, and that race is the bigger prize sitting behind the series scoreline.
- Australia lead the 2025-27 World Test Championship table with a points percentage near 87.50, built on seven wins from their first eight matches.
- Bangladesh sit closer to mid-table with a percentage near 58.33, after a historic 2-0 sweep of Pakistan in May 2026, their first-ever clean sweep of that opponent.
- The WTC ranks teams by points percentage, not total points, since sides play a different number of Tests across the cycle. So one strong series can move a team several spots.
Indian fans track this table too, since India compete in the same cycle. A shock Bangladesh win in Australia would shake up the mid-table picture and change who India face on the run to the 2027 final at Lord’s.
A Historic Tour: Bangladesh’s First Test Visit to Australia in 23 Years
Bangladesh last played a Test on Australian soil in July 2003, so this tour closes a 23-year gap. Back then, Bangladesh had only been a Test nation for three years.
The tour was originally set for March 2027, but Cricket Australia moved it forward to August 2026 because of fixture congestion with England’s 150th Anniversary Test later in the calendar. This series also marks Australia’s first winter Tests since 2004.
Marrara Stadium, Darwin: Where Bangladesh’s Australian Story Began
Marrara hosted Bangladesh’s very first Test on Australian turf back in 2003, and now it welcomes the Tigers back to open this tour too.
Australia won that debut Test by an innings and 132 runs. The ground then staged an Australia vs Sri Lanka Test in July 2004, and no Test cricket followed there until this series. Marrara Oval opened in 1991, seats 12,215, and remains the largest stadium in the Northern Territory. It hosted Australia vs South Africa T20Is in August 2025 too, its first international cricket in 17 years before that.
Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay: A Brand-New Test Venue
Mackay has never hosted a Test match before, so the second Test writes a fresh chapter for regional Queensland cricket.
Great Barrier Reef Arena becomes the fourth Queensland venue to stage Test cricket, joining the Gabba, the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, and Cazalys in Cairns. Built in 1948 as Harrup Park, the ground holds 10,000 people and staged its first ODI back in 1992. Sellout crowds past 5,000 turned up for two ODIs against South Africa in 2025, and the venue has also hosted Sheffield Shield games, Weber Women’s Big Bash League fixtures, and Australia A matches against New Zealand and India.
Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026: Both Squads in Full
Both boards named settled, experience-heavy squads for this series, and each side carries its own injury story heading in.
Australia Test Squad
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Pat Cummins (c) | Fast bowler |
| Scott Boland | Fast bowler |
| Alex Carey | Wicketkeeper |
| Cameron Green | All-rounder |
| Josh Hazlewood | Fast bowler |
| Travis Head | Batter |
| Josh Inglis | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Batter |
| Nathan Lyon | Off-spinner |
| Steve Smith | Batter |
| Mitchell Starc | Fast bowler |
| Jake Weatherald | Opening batter |
| Beau Webster | All-rounder |
Pat Cummins returns as captain for his first Test since December last year. Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon are also back from injury layoffs.
Jake Weatherald keeps the opening spot he earned after Usman Khawaja’s retirement earlier this year. Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, and Brendan Doggett all missed selection despite recent form.
Bangladesh Test Squad
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Najmul Hossain Shanto (c) | Batter |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc) | All-rounder |
| Soumya Sarkar | All-rounder |
| Shadman Islam | Opening batter |
| Tanzid Hasan | Opening batter |
| Mominul Haque | Batter |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Amite Hasan | Batter |
| Jaker Ali Anik | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Taijul Islam | Spinner |
| Taskin Ahmed | Fast bowler |
| Hasan Mahmud | Fast bowler |
| Syed Khaled Ahmed | Fast bowler |
| Ebadot Hossain | Fast bowler |
| Musfik Hasan | Fast bowler (uncapped) |
Najmul Hossain Shanto captains a 15-man squad, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as his deputy. Soumya Sarkar’s recall is the standout selection, marking his first Test appearance in more than five years.
Wicketkeeper Litton Das misses the first Test through injury but should be available for the second. Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, and Mustafizur Rahman are all unavailable too, which opens the door for uncapped pacer Musfik Hasan.
Head-to-Head: Australia vs Bangladesh in Tests
Australia have won five of the six Tests these two sides have played, and Bangladesh’s solitary win remains one of the format’s great upsets.
| Year | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Darwin | Australia won by an innings and 132 runs |
| 2003 | Cairns | Australia won by an innings and 98 runs |
| 2006 | Fatullah | Australia won by 3 wickets |
| 2006 | Chittagong | Australia won by an innings and 80 runs |
| 2017 | Dhaka | Bangladesh won by 20 runs |
| 2017 | Chittagong | Australia won by 7 wickets |
That 2017 win in Dhaka came off a brilliant all-round display from Shakib Al Hasan, who scored crucial runs and claimed a ten-wicket match haul. Australia leveled the series a week later in Chittagong, so Bangladesh have still never won a bilateral Test series against Australia. This tour gives them a fresh shot on unfamiliar soil.
Players to Watch in the Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026
A handful of names will decide how competitive this series turns out to be, on both sides of the contest.
- Pat Cummins: back from injury and captaining a full-strength pace battery alongside Starc and Hazlewood, a genuine luxury for any Test side.
- Najmul Hossain Shanto: leads Bangladesh into unfamiliar Australian conditions and needs runs at the top to set the tone.
- Soumya Sarkar: returns to Test cricket after half a decade away, adding experience to a middle order short on caps.
- Taskin Ahmed: spearheads the Bangladesh pace attack and will need extra pace and bounce to trouble Australia’s settled batting line-up.
- Nathan Lyon: still Australia’s leading spin threat, and his six-wicket haul the last time these teams met shows he enjoys facing Bangladesh.
Where to Watch Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026 in India
Star Sports and JioHotstar hold the television and digital rights to all of Cricket Australia’s home matches in India, under a deal that runs through 2031. That partnership should extend to this series too, though the exact channel lineup for these two Tests was not confirmed at the time of writing.
In Australia, the series will be shown on Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Seven, and 7plus. Fans should check FanCode and the BCB’s official channels closer to the series for any streaming confirmation from the Bangladesh side.
Final Word: Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026 Starts from 6th August
The Bangladesh Tour of Australia 2026 is more than a routine two-Test series. It ends a 23-year wait, opens a brand-new Test venue in Mackay, and carries real World Test Championship weight for both sides.
Australia enter as strong favorites with a fully fit pace attack, but Bangladesh arrive with genuine momentum after sweeping Pakistan. Keep this page bookmarked for the schedule, squads, and streaming details as the series unfolds from Darwin to Mackay this August.
