NEW DELHI, July 11: India will play three T20 Internationals and as many ODIs during their tour to Sri Lanka across July and August, and the matches will be played at Pallekele and Colombo, the BCCI announced on Thursday.
The white-ball tour will kick off with the T20Is (July 26, 27, 29) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and the series will then move to Colombo where the one-dayers (August 1, 4, 7) will be played at the R Premadasa International Stadium.
India will be manned by newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, while the Lankans will also have a new coach in Sanath Jayasuriya.
Gambhir has recently replaced Rahul Dravid, who led India to their second T20 World Cup title in the Americas, while Jayasuriya came in for Chris Silverwood.
India are yet to announce the squad for the series but, as reported by PTI on July 8, senior players such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be rested for this trip.
It is expected that Hardik Pandya might get the reins of the T20I side, while KL Rahul could be appointed as the ODI team’s skipper.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who were ousted in the group stages of the T20 World Cup, will also have a new skipper after Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down from his post on Thursday.
This will be India’s first white-ball bilateral trip to the Island nation since 2021.
Dravid was the stand-in coach then with Shikhar Dhawan leading a second-string side.
The tourists had won both the T20I and ODI series on that occasion.
HASARANGA STEPS DOWN AS T20 CAPTAIN
Wanindu Hasaranga on Thursday stepped down as the Sri Lanka captain in T20 Internationals ahead of their upcoming three-match series against India.
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to inform the public that National Men’s 20I Captain Wanindu Hasaranga has decided to resign from the captaincy,” a release from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said.
“Hasaranga said it is in the best interest of Sri Lanka Cricket that he decided to relinquish the captaincy duties and remain in the side as a player,” the release added.
Hasaranga’s last assignment as Sri Lanka skipper was in the T20 World Cup where the 2014 champions failed to make the Super Eight round.
“Sri Lanka will always have my utmost best efforts as a player, and I will support and stand by my team and leadership as always,” Hasaranga was quoted as saying in the statement.
The SLC added that it has accepted Hasaranga’s resignation.
“Sri Lanka Cricket, while accepting his resignation, wishes to state that Hasaranga will remain an important player for us in our international cricketing plans,” SLC said. (PTI)
