Host broadcasters Sony Network have confirmed the schedule for the upcoming ODI and T20I series between India and Sri Lanka in July. The ODIs will be played on the 13th, 16th and 18th, and the T20Is on the 21st, 23rd and 25th.
India have already sent a squad to the UK for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June and the five-match Test series against England, starting in August.
The entire Sri Lanka tour will be completed in July, which will mean that there will be no date on which two Indian teams will take field together. However, the many Covid-19 restrictions and quarantine rules will force India to send an entirely different squad to Sri Lanka.
Former Indian captain and National Cricket Academy (NCA) head Rahul Dravid will coach India on the tour. This will be Dravid’s second stint with the Indian senior team. He has previously served as a batting consultant during the England tour in 2014. Before becoming NCA head in 2019, Dravid had coached India Under-19 and India A.
‘The Team India coaching staff will be in the UK and it is best that the young team is guided by Dravid as he has already worked with almost all of India ‘A’ boys. The comfort the youngsters share with him will be an added advantage,’ ANI quoted a BCCI official saying.
Confirmed schedule for India tour of Sri Lanka:
13 July: India v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI
16 July: India v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI
18 July: India v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI
21 July: India v Sri Lanka, 1st T20I
23 July: India v Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I
25 July: India v Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I