Bangladesh national cricket team

The Bangladesh men's national cricket team (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ক্রিকেট দল), popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. It became an associate member of the ICC in 1977, and competed in six ICC Trophies but performed inconsistently until 1997, which marked the year of their first major victory, winning the 1997 ICC Trophy held in Malaysia. This set Bangladesh on its way of becoming a Test-playing nation, a journey which ended with success in the year 2000.It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket loss in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test-playing nation.

Bangladesh's first official foray into international cricket came in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England. On 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played its first ODI match, against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. For a long time, football was the most popular sport in Bangladesh, but cricket gradually became very popular – particularly in urban areas – and by the late 1990s, it had surpassed football.

In 1997, Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy in Malaysia and thus qualified for its first Cricket World Cup to participate in England in 1999. There, it defeated Pakistan – causing much upset – and also Scotland. On 26 June 2000, Bangladesh was granted full ICC membership.

Bangladesh holds the record for most consecutive losses in Tests (21, between 2000 and 2002) and ODIs (23, between 2001 and 2004). After becoming Full Member, they had to wait until 2004 for its first ODI win since the 1999 World Cup which was against Zimbabwe. Bangladesh's maiden Test victory was against Zimbabwe in 2005 where securing a draw in the 2nd match, Bangladesh won their first Test series. In 2009 Bangladesh toured the West Indies for two Tests and by winning both secured their first overseas Test series victory.

As of 3 April 2024, Bangladesh has played 142 Tests, winning 130. Its first victory was against Zimbabwe, and the next two came against the West Indies. Results have improved predominantly at home with draws earned against Pakistan, India and South Africa and wins against England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia. They played their 100th Test when they toured Sri Lanka in March 2017 which they won by 4 wickets.

As of 18 March 2024, the team has won 159 of its 438 ODI matches. They played their 100th ODI when India toured Bangladesh in December 2004 which they won, 200th ODI when Bangladesh toured West Indies in 2009 which they won, 300th ODI in the quarter-final of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup against India, which India won and 400th ODI against Zimbabwe which they won. They got their 100th ODI win when Afghanistan toured Bangladesh in October 2016.

Bangladesh have also played 161 T20Is, winning 60. They played their 100th T20I against Zimbabwe in July 2021 which they won. Results have improved with wins against Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies.

Bangladesh's major achievements include reaching the semi-finals in 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. That run included a famous comeback win over New Zealand , which is often looked back as one of the greatest wins in Bangladesh's cricketing history. The team reached the quarter-finals in 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup after beating England in Adelaide in what is still a landmark moment for the team and the fanbase. Bangladesh has been runners up in three Asia Cups -in 2012, where they lost by a narrow margin of 2 runs in Mirpur, in 2016, the T20 version of the tournament held at home, and 2018 held in the UAE. They lost in the final of the 2018 Nidahas Trophy in the last over, the latest of a series of near final losses for the national side. They won their first recognized multi-team trophy when they lifted 2019 Ireland Tri-Nation Series .

As of 28 September 2023, Bangladesh is ranked 9th in Tests, 8th in ODIs and 9th in T20Is by the ICC.