India’s tour of Sri Lanka begins on July 26 with a three-match T20I series. After the T20I, the three-match ODI series will begin on August 1. According to the BCCI, the T20I matches will be played at the Pallekele International Stadium, while the R Premadasa Stadium will host the ODIs.
The schedule of the T20I series is as follows: First match on July 26, second on July 27. in July and the final on July 29. Both teams have new head coaches. Legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the interim head coach of Sri Lanka. For India, the tour will be former opener Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach, succeeding T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid
India’s last tour of Sri Lanka in a bilateral white-ball series was in July 2021, where Dravid. will coach the side led by Shikhar Dhawan. India won the ODI series 2–1 while Sri Lanka won the T20I series by the same margin.
This is India’s second T20I series after their T20 World Cup triumph when South Africa won by seven runs in the final. Currently, the new-look Indian team, led by Shubman Gilli and coached by VVS Laxman, is touring Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series. The series is currently 2-1 in India’s hands and the fourth T20I will be played in Harare on Saturday.
On the other hand, the T20 WC was bad for Sri Lanka because they did not qualify for the Super Eights. In the subgroup, they lost to South Africa and Bangladesh, and only one win could be registered against the Netherlands. Their game against Nepal was washed out due to rain. With only three points, Lanka finished third in Group D.
After Rohit Sharma announced that he will retire from T20Is after winning the ICC T20 World Cup, all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to lead the man in blue in the shortest format of the game. Meanwhile, according to sources, wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul will lead the team in ODIs.
“Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the Indian team in the T20 series. Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement. Hardik is also unlikely to be rested for the upcoming Sri Lanka series,” BCCI Sources told ANI.
In the T20 World Cup, Pandya scored 144 runs in six balls at an average of 48.00 with a strike rate of 151.57, a best half-century of 50*. He also took 11 wickets in eight games at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64 with best figures of 3/20.
The tournament marked the redemption story of Hardik, who was booed in every stadium across India during the 2024 IPL when he took over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians (MI) from five-time IPL champion Rohit Sharma. The all-rounder, who recently returned to action after suffering an ankle injury in the 50-over World Cup last year, became the target of online trolling and fan wars after being accused of cheating in the MI series. Rohit and his former franchise Gujarat Titans (GT), whom he led to the IPL title in 2022.
On the other hand, KL Rahul was left out of the Men’s Blue T20 World Cup squad despite his stellar performance in ODIs. World Cup 2023 – in competition. which was held in India and scored 452 runs with a century and two fifties in 11 games.
In the absence of Hardik in T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav could be the one to lead the T-20I team and Rahul may represent ODI teams. Why is that so? But for now, it looks like Hardik and KL will lead the team,” the source added.
After T20 World Cup win in the recent 20-nation tournament, Rohit, Kohli and even Jasprit Bumrah will be rested during the SL tour. The India tour starts on July 27 and ends on August 7. The trio of Rohit, Bumrah and Kohli are likely to return before the start of the Indian domestic season in September.
