Sri Lanka to play two Tests, three T20Is in India next year

Sri Lanka will tour India next year for two Tests and three T20Is, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced yesterday, part of a busy home summer for the Indians.

The tour will begin with the two Tests in Bengaluru, from February 25 to March 1 and Mohali from March 5 to 9.

Sri Lanka will remain in Mohali for the first T20I on March 13 before playing the remaining two matches in Dharamsala (March 15) and Lucknow (March 18).

The two Tests will be part of the 2021-2023 World Test Championship cycle, with Sri Lanka slated to play home Tests against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan, and will also have away Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Sri Lanka’s last Test tour to India was in 2017, which the hosts won 1-0, with two Tests ending in draws.

Sri Lanka could however face a logistical challenge, if current travel restrictions and quarantine regulations remain in place at the time, as they complete their five T20I series in Australia only five days prior to the first Test.

The tour to Australia will begin at the Sydney Cricket Ground with matches in Brisbane, Queensland, Adelaide and Melbourne to follow.

India’s home summer will include three T20Is and two Tests against New Zealand in November and December this year, three ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies in February 2022 and five T20Is against South Africa after Sri Lanka’s tour.