Indian Cricket Team 2019 schedule

First of all, Happy New Year.

After having a decent 2018 in which Virat Kohli and his men travelled overseas and challenged their opponents, they will down to business on just the third day of the year as they play their first match of 2019 on January 3.

The next 365 days will witness India taking part in nine Test matches, a minimum of 31 ODIs (33 if India reach the World Cup final) and 17 T20Is.

Let us take a look at the complete schedule of the Indian cricket team in 2019.

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India tour of Australia 2018-19

India's 2019 will get underway with the New Year Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney as a part of the four-match Test series. Once the match gets over on January 7, both the teams take on each other in a three-match ODI series that starts on January 12 and ends on January 18, bringing India's two-month trip Down Under to an end.

Schedule:

January 3-7: Australia vs India, fourth Test, SCG, Sydney

January 12: Australia vs India, first ODI, SCG, Sydney

January 15: Australia vs India, second ODI, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

January 18: Australia vs India, third ODI, MCG, Melbourne.

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India tour of New Zealand

Following the tour of Australia, India will travel across the Tasmanian sea to take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI Series that gets underway on January 23 and after the completion of the series, both the teams will play a three-match T20I series that gets over on February 10.

January 23: New Zealand vs India, first ODI, McLean Park, Napier

January 26: New Zealand vs India, second ODI, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

January 28: New Zealand vs India, third ODI, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

January 31: New Zealand vs India, fourth ODI, Seddon Park, Hamilton

February 3: New Zealand vs India, fifth ODI, Westpac Stadium, Wellington

February 6: New Zealand vs India, first T20I, Westpac Stadium, Wellington

February 8: New Zealand vs India, second T20I, Eden Park, Auckland

February 10: New Zealand vs India, third T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton

Australia tour of India

After spending close to three months in the southern hemisphere, the Indian team will be happy to return home where they play a short limited-overs series against Australia as a preparation for the 2019 World Cup. The tour that will have as many as five ODIs and two T20Is, will get underway on February 24 and will end on March 13.

February 24: India vs Australia, first ODI, Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

February 27: India vs Australia, second ODI, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

March 2: India vs Australia, third ODI, VCA Stadium, Nagpur

March 5: India vs Australia, fourth ODI, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

March 8: India vs Australia, fifth ODI, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi

March 10: India vs Australia, first T20I, M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

March 13: India vs Australia, second T20I, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

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Zimbabwe tour of India

For the first time in over 15 years, Zimbabwe are scheduled to tour India and will take part in one Test and three ODIs. The schedule for the series is yet to be announced. However, the tour could be in jeopardy as the IPL is slated to get underway in the middle of March and dates could get clashed if the T20 extravaganza starts early.

In all likelihood, this could be MS Dhoni's last series as a player in India.

Indian Premier League 2019

The 2019 IPL is expected to get underway in March and get over by the second or third week of May in a bid to give the players some breather ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The tentative window for the IPL is from March 29 till May 19. In all likelihood, the tournament might not take place in India due to the General Elections and South Africa are in pole position to host the tournament while there are chances of UAE hosting it too.

ICC 2019 World Cup

Following the 2019 IPL, India will take part in the 2019 ICC World Cup along with nine other teams including the defending champions Australia, the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy winners Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan and hosts England. The tournament will get underway on May 30 and will take place all the way till July 14. India will face every single team once in the league stage and if they finish in the top-4, they will qualify for the semis.

World Test Championships: India tour of West Indies

Following the World Cup, India will be touring the West Indies for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is and the itinerary for the tour is yet to be announced by Windies Cricket. It should be noted that the two-match Test series will be a part of the World Test Championship that gets underway with this series and goes all the way till 2021.

World Test Championships: South Africa tour of India

Following the tour of West Indies in August, the Indian cricketers will get a month-long break before they get on the road again. They will kick their home Test season with a three-match Test series against South Africa which will be a part of the World Test Championships. It should be noted that the Proteas just tour India to play Tests and will come back in February 2020 for the limited-overs leg.

World Test Championships: Bangladesh tour of India

Immediately after the three-match Test series against South Africa, India will host Bangladesh as a part of the World Test Championship in November. The Asian rivals will take on each other in two Tests and three T20Is in India and this series will mark the end of India's Test matches this year.

West Indies tour of India

India will end 2019 by hosting West Indies in a limited-overs leg in December. It has been announced that the tour will have three ODIs and three T20Is between the teams but the itinerary for the same is yet to be released.

By the end of the series, India would have played a maximum of 98 days of international cricket in the year.