India vs Sri Lanka start date: India’s tour Sri Lanka in July will be their first visit to the island nation for a bilateral series in four years.
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India will have two completely different teams in two different parts of the world playing different formats of cricket in July. While all the first-choice players will be in England after the ICC World Test Championship final preparing for a five-match Test series against England, a lot of other names will be in Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
It is worth mentioning that India were scheduled to tour Sri Lanka last year but the series had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the Indian Test team will have a few weeks to between the Test Championship final and first England Test, travel in the middle of bio-bubbles and quarantine procedures won’t be a practical option.
On the contrary, sending a second-string team to Sri Lanka will give multiple opportunities to fringe players who have been doing well in both domestic cricket and Indian Premier League over the years.
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With the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul scheduled to travel to England, India will also have a new white-ball captain for the Sri Lanka tour. As far as an early prediction is concerned, one out of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya or Prithvi Shaw could be handed the reigns of the white-ball team.
India vs Sri Lanka start date
According to a proposed itinerary by Sri Lanka Cricket, India will travel to Sri Lanka on July 5. Set to be played in a bio-secure environment, the visitors will have to undergo a week-long quarantine before the first ODI on July 13.
#India to play three ODIs and five T20Is in #SriLanka this July..#Cricket
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 10, 2021
After the second and third ODI on July 16 and 19 respectively, the T20I series is likely to begin from July 22 with the remaining two matches on July 24 and 27 respectively. Fans must note that these dates are yet to be confirmed by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).
The last time that India had toured Sri Lanka was in 2018 for the Nidahas Trophy. As far as their last bilateral tour of Sri Lanka is concerned, India had played three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I in 2017.
