Sri Lanka announceĀ six home white-ball games against India in July 2024
Sri Lanka Cricket on Wednesday released their cricketing tour calendar for the upcoming year featuring 21 ODIs and as many T20Is alongside 10 Tests. The Indian cricket team would tour the islands immediately after the World T20 in June for ODI and T20I series, followed by three Tests in England.
Sri Lanka will kick off 2024 with a visit by Zimbabwe involving three ODIs and as many T20Is followed by an all-format homeĀ affair against Afghanistan, including a solitary Test match. The Lions would cap off their preparations for the World T20 2024 in the Caribbean and USA with three T20Is in Bangladesh alongside as many ODIs and two Test matches before welcoming India for six white-ball games split evenly across the two formats.
The months of August and September would seeĀ Sri Lanka play five Tests, three in England and two at home against New Zealand. They would meet the Black Caps twice again in the year in the form of three ODIs and T20Is at home in November followed by a mirror tour of the islands Down Under across December and January. The Lions also host West Indies for white ball games in October and play two Tests in South Africa before heading to New Zealand.
"We are heading into a highly exciting year with a lot of international cricket to be played, which augurs well for us, as our team will be engaged in competitive cricket year around," Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, stated upon the release of the Future Tours Programme.
"The 2024 calendar is expected to give our players a lot of playing opportunities, fans entertainment, and our sponsors great exposure,'' he added.Ā Ā
India had last visited their neighbors in 2021 in a similarly structured tour where they hadĀ emerged 2-1 winners in ODIs before Sri Lanka returned the favour in the T20I series. However, the islanders have found the going to be tough against the Men in Blue of late, tumbling to 50 and 55 all-out in the last two ODIs at the Asia Cup and World Cup, respectively. Earlier in the year, the Lions had also toured India for six limited-overs games where they were whitewashed in the 50-over encounters and managed a solitary victory in the T20I series.
Sri Lanka Menās 2024 Future Tours Program Announced! š¢
ā Sri Lanka Cricket š±š° (@OfficialSLC) November 29, 2023
The Sri Lanka National Team will commence its 2024 international cricket calendar with a home series against Zimbabwe in January, which will consist of three ODIs and three T20i series.
It would be followed by a seriesā¦ pic.twitter.com/6BRRUCNhCs