Bangladesh to host Sri Lanka for two-match Test series in March

Bangladesh will host Sri Lanka for two World Test Championship (WTC) matches in March 2024. Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram will host the matches as this will be the first time that Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka won’t be hosting any Test match of the series. The stadium will be used for the Australian women’s tour to Bangladesh, which will continue till the end of March.

As per ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka will reach Bangladesh on March 1, the same day as the final of the ongoing BPL. Ahead of the two-match Test series, the Lankan Lions will play a three-match T20I series, followed by ODIs. Sylhet will host the T20I matches on March 4,6 and 9 respectively while the ODIs will be played in Chattogram on March 13,15 and 18. The first two ODIs of the series are day-night affairs while the third one will begin at 10:00 am local time (10:30 am IST).

After the conclusion of the ODI series, the two teams will come back to Sylhet as the first Test is slated to begin on March 22. After a break of three days, the second match will begin on March 30. After which, the Bangladesh and Sri Lankan players are expected to join their respective Indian Premier League franchises. 

However, Sri Lanka are likely to release Matheesa Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana much earlier but the same cannot be said for Mushtafizur Rahman, who will play for Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming season. In the last couple of editions of the tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) released their players late, which created a lot of controversies. The same can repeat once again and if it indeed happens, CSK are likely to miss Rahman’s service for the first three to four matches.

Notably, Sri Lanka are currently involved in a one-off Test series against Afghanistan. After which, they will host the visitors for a three-match ODI series followed by T20Is.