Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India get a chance to avenge defeat at year-end

The home leg of Border-Gavaskar Trophy between 21 January and 3 March 2027 will offer India a fine opportunity to get even after a 3-1 mauling that Rohit Sharma & Co. received during their visit Down Under in the 2025-26 series. The five-Test series will be the marquee event in a jampacked calendar of home fixtures unveiled by the BCCI for their senior men’s team on Thursday.

The 2026-27 season will feature four visiting teams — West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia — in a multi-format schedule. The season will comprise 22 international matches in 17 cities to give fans across the country the opportunity to witness a slice of international cricket. However, it’s only against Pat Cummins’ men that India have a Test series scheduled with venues like Guwahati and Ranchi enjoying a pride of place at the expense of time-tested venues like Kolkata, Mumbai or Bangalore.  

While the first Test begins on 21 January in Nagpur, the dates for the other four are Chennai (29 January–2 February), Guwahati (11-15 February), Ranchi (19-23 February) and Ahmedabad (27 February-3 March). Fans in social media gave vent to their ire for what they felt was shortchanging of Eden Gardens which has been allotted a ODI against Zimbabwe on 3 January, 2027.

The season will commence with the West Indies tour of India, starting on 27 September with a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series. The ODIs will be played in Trivandrum, Guwahati and New Chandigarh before the action shifts to the T20Is - which will be hosted across Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

India will then host Sri Lanka in December 2026 for another white ball series comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is. The ODI leg will be played in Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad while Rajkot, Cuttack and Pune will host the T20Is.

Come the new year, Zimbabwe will tour India for a three-match ODI series in January 2027. The matches will be held in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.