Sri Lanka Cricket appoint match officials for India series

After much deliberation and a clearance from the Sri Lankan government, the limited-overs series between Sri Lanka and India is set to begin from July 18. With COVID-19 hampering the start of the series, both teams will now look to strike the first blow when the first of the three-match ODI series starts on Sunday.

After finalizing the start of the matches for the ODIs and T20I games, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has now announced the match officials during the white-ball matches against India. Ranjan Madugalle has been named as the match referee for the series.

While the umpires comprise Kumar Dharmasena, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Lyndon Hannibal, and Prageeth Rambukwella, as was announced by SLC on Tuesday, July 13.

All six games will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo with all safety measures and COVID-19 protocols in place.

The Indian players are currently sweating it out in gyms and playing the intra-squad games. Although head coach Rahul Dravid could not get few practice games under his belt, he still got the team to feature in the intra- squad games, wherein he could potentially identify the in-form players during the series.

Match Officials | India Tour of Sri Lanka 2021 – https://t.co/4l1IEstfmX #SLvIND

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 13, 2021

SLC rescheduled the series after speaking to BCCI

After two members from the Sri Lanka team tested positive upon arrival from England, the SLC took safety precautions and put out two different teams-one in Dambulla and the other in Colombo, to nullify the COVID-19 threat.

After that, the SLC was seen in constant touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials and then rescheduled the start series by five days. Commenting on the revised start of the limited-overs series, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said to Sportskeeda, “We understand that circumstances are extraordinary, but the BCCI would like to extend its full support to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) during these tough times for the smooth conduct of the upcoming series.”

“Our medical team is in constant touch with the team of doctors at SLC and together following all safety protocols that will help the series to get underway. We are confident that both nations will put up a spirited show in the days to come and we are in for some exciting cricket.”