England to return Sri Lanka for Test series in January 2021

12/09/2020

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have confirmed that their postponed series against England will now take place in January 2021, just after Sri Lanka’s assignment against South Africa. The series was supposed to be played in March 2020 but had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

England were already in Sri Lanka when the coronavirus situation worsened and in the middle of their second warm-up game, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the postponement. But now that Sri Lanka have a space in their calendar with England having one with them already, both the boards have come to a conclusion to host the series in January 2021.

According to the itinerary, both the Tests will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Colombo from January 14 and January 22 respectively. The schedule has been ratified after ECB shared their positive response regarding the biosecure bubble and after studying the safety protocol in place for the ongoing Lanka Premier League.

Sri Lanka, as a matter of fact, are yet to return to international cricket after Bangladesh refused to comply with a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for the touring party. However, the side will break their hiatus before England come to the island nation, with the team slated to play South Africa in December. It remains to be seen though if that can actually go ahead given the situation that occurred during the ODI leg of England series.