Australia, having lost the home Test series to India recently, will tour New Zealand next for five T20Is – here’s a look at their complete cricket schedule for 2021.

Australia’s series loss against India, which confounded the odds on all cricket sites for betting, has affected their chances of making it to the World Test Championship final later this year, but they do have the opportunity to set that straight during their upcoming tour of South Africa. While the entire schedule for the calendar year isn’t out yet, the other major series for the Australia men’s team will be the T20 World Cup in India followed by the Ashes series at home.

Here’s Australia schedule for 2021:

Australia in New Zealand (February-March)

Five T20Is

Australia will play New Zealand in five T20Is between February 22 and March 7. It will be the first bilateral T20I series between the two sides since 2010. The five matches will be played in Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Auckland and Mount Maunganui. Less than a year ago, the two teams had faced off in an ODI in Sydney behind closed doors, before the tour was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia in South Africa (March)

Three Tests

While Australia’s Test squad for their tour of South Africa has been announced, the schedule for the Test series hasn’t been finalised as yet. The series is expected to run parallel to the T20I series in New Zealand.

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Australia’s Test squad to face South Africa has thrown up plenty of talking points.#SAvAUS https://t.co/FnqBhECSnQ

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 27, 2021

IPL 2021 (April-May)

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is expected to be played in its usual slot of the year, during April-May, with the schedule and the host nation yet to be announced. As always, the Australian players will be a key feature in the tournament, as they would be at the auctions to be held on February 18. Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, who were two of the biggest names released by the respective franchises would be the ones to look out for.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021 (October-November)

The seventh edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which was originally supposed to be hosted by Australia in November-December 2020, will now be played in India later this year. The 16 teams will contest in 45 matches at the tournament. Australia are yet to lift the trophy, and the closest they came to it was in 2010 in the West Indies, when they’d lost to England in the final.

The Ashes 2021/22 – England in Australia (December-January)

The T20 World Cup will be followed by the much-awaited Ashes series Down Under. Australia had retained the urn under Tim Paine in England in 2019, where the series was drawn at 2-2. The last Ashes series in Australia in 2017/18 was won by the hosts 4-0.