Australia's Test tour to India may coincide with home T20I series against Sri Lanka

David Warner and Steve Smith are among those who play all three formats

In what will be a particularly delicate situation, Australia might have to need two completely different sets of players to handle the scheduling clash early next year. With a Test tour to India set to begin from February, a home T20I series against Sri Lanka has also been penciled in during the same time frame.

It is understood that Cricket Australia’s (CA) chief executive James Sutherland had deliberated on the possibility in an ICC meeting earlier this year to take stock of an increasingly hectic international calendar.

However, CA’s General Manager Pat Howard assured that Australia will not find themselves involved in a Test match as well as a T20I on the same day even though switching over formats within a short span of time could affect the team’s preparations.

Speaking to foxsports.com.au, Howard believed, “We are scenario-planning and we strongly don't anticipate that an Australian team will be playing the same day as another Aussie team. Our caveat is we don't know when the Indian Tests are. We haven't got that schedule confirmed.“

A similar scenario arose in January-February this year when quite a few of the ODI mainstays left for New Zealand in the middle of a T20I series at home against India in order to get acclimatized to the conditions.

Howard felt, “The schedule will continue to be tight, and has been for the last couple of years. There have been contingency plans discussed. The preparation clashes which happened in the past, I can absolutely see happening again.”

While the 3 T20Is at home versus Sri Lanka are scheduled on February 17, 19, 22 respectively, the first Test against India in Bengaluru could also kick start in the intervening period. But, in case of such a scenario, Howard asserted that Australia would give precedence to Tests ahead of T20Is.

He claimed, “I don't apologize for putting Test cricket first. We have to give the guys every opportunity to play well in India which will mean (other) guys will get an opportunity to play T20 international cricket here.”