Bangladesh set to tour Sri Lanka for long series in March

The Bangladesh cricket fans have received yet another good news. Soon after the New Zealand series concludes, the Bangla tigers will have the Indian and the Sri Lankan challenge ahead. Bangladesh will play their first ever Test match in India in February. After the one-off Test, the team will head to Sri Lanka for a full tour in March and April.

As per the reports in thepapare.com, the tour will comprise of two Tests, three ODIs and 2 T20Is. While the Bangladeshis have been in a supreme form at home, their overseas records has been shaky. They were recently whitewashed in the ODIs and the T20Is series in New Zealand.

Amidst such a situation, the tour gives a good opportunity for the Bangla tigers to come up good on overseas soil. Interestingly, Bangladesh have never beaten Sri Lanka in a Test match in the history of the game. However, given the current Test form where they drew level with England 1-1, one cannot take the Bangladeshi team lightly.

During their last tour to Sri Lanka in 2013, Bangladesh had managed to register just a solitary win. They lost the Test series 1-0 and the only T20 was also won by Sri Lanka. In the ODI series, they managed to draw the scores 1-1.

Also read – Injury cloud hangs over Bangladesh as openers likely to miss Test series

Speaking about the venues, Galle will host the first of the two Test matches. The second Test match will be played at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo. The ODI series opener will be played at Hambantota. Hambantota last hosted an international match back in 2015. The next two ODIs will be played in Dambulla. The two T20Is will be staged at Khettarama.

Talking about the current form of the hosts, Sri Lanka are struggling in the South African conditions. They were beaten in the first two Tests of their tour. Prior to this series, they were beaten in the ODIs against Australia at home but had managed to whitewash the Aussies 3-0 in the Tests. Sri Lanka’s long tour of South Africa ends in February. Following the tour, they will head to Australia to play a short T20I series before taking on Bangladesh at home in March. The tournament commences on March 7.

The tentative schedule:

1st Test – 7-11 March, Galle
2nd Test – 15-19 March, Colombo
1st ODI – 25 March, Hambanthota
2nd ODI – 29 March, Dambulla
3rd ODI – 1 April, Dambulla
1st T20I – 5 April, Khettarama
2nd T20I – 8 April, Khettarama