Sri Lanka to host 2 Tests vs England in 2021
England’s tour of Sri Lanka, which was set to take place in March 2020, will now be held in January 2021, as informed by the Sri Lankan Cricket board.
The series was called off earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board and the ECB have now come to an agreement regarding the travel and biosecurity plan for the upcoming series.
Joe Root is expected to lead the English contingent.
England tour of Sri Lanka schedule:
Jan 5 to Jan 9: England team training sessions, Hambantota
Jan 14 to Jan 18: First Test, Galle International Stadium
Jan 22 to Jan 26: Second Test, Galle International Stadium
The Tests will be held behind closed doors, and both games will be played at Galle. England's touring party will land in Sri Lanka on January 3.
This is certainly big news for Sri Lankan cricket as they are yet to play a game since the pandemic broke out this year.
Before England's tour to Sri Lanka, the island nation is set to travel to South Africa to play two Tests against the Proteas. However, there is no guarantee that the series will go through now, given the way that England's tour had to be halted midway due to COVID-19-related reasons. The future of the series, which was set to start on December 26, is currently up in the air.
Sri Lanka were also supposed to host Bangladesh in September for a three-match Test series, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board was not ready to comply with the 14-day mandatory quarantine period for the touring party.
England are third in the World Test Championship table while Sri Lanka sit in sixth place in the standings.