Sri Lanka likely to tour India for three T20 Internationals in January 2020

With the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia, most of the teams are concentrating on playing more matches in the shortest format. India is no different in this aspect as they are already scheduled to play around 30 T20 Internationals ahead of the mega event in 2020. However, three more matches are likely to be added to their itinerary it seems as Sri Lanka are likely to tour India next year in January.

Both the teams haven’t faced each other much in the recent past in a bilateral series across any format. They locked horns in the 50-over World Cup earlier this year in England while India toured Sri Lanka last year for the Nidahas Trophy which they won under Rohit Sharma‘s captaincy.

The two teams were last involved in a bilateral series back in December 2017 when the Islanders visited India for the whole tour across three formats. BBC Sinhala reported the news of the possibility of the tour where Sri Lanka will play three T20 Internationals in India in January 2020. The scheduling of the tour will be a challenge for the BCCI now as India are to host Zimbabwe (3 T20Is; Jan 5-10) and Australia (for 3 ODIs; Jan 14-19) in the same month.

Moreover, Virat Kohli‘s men are to play their first match of the New Zealand tour on January 24 where they will face the hosts in 5 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests.

Current series for both the teams

As far as the current scenario is concerned, India are set to host South Africa to embark on their new home season. The two sides will play three T20Is starting from September 15 before the three-match Test series commences on October 2. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is scheduled to travel Pakistan for three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals with the tour set to begin on September 27.

But unfortunately, 10 of Sri Lanka’s top players have refused to go to Pakistan citing security concerns. Despite the same, the tour is going ahead with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) likely to name a second-string side in a bid to help Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in its efforts to resume international cricket in the country. Reportedly, Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka have emerged as the captaincy candidates for the tour.

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