Colombo, Mar 25 (IANS): The all-format tour of Australia men's team to Sri Lanka has been confirmed to happen in June and July this year. It will be for the first time since 2016 when Australia will be touring Sri Lanka.
The tour will begin with three T20Is followed by five ODIs, for which the hosting rights will be shared between the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy from June 7 to June 24.
The all-format trip will end with two Tests which will be part of the World Test Championship to be held at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle from June 29 to July 3 and July 8 to 12.
"We are in for some exciting cricket, especially considering that an Australian tour to Sri Lanka is taking place after 5 years, since last time they toured Sri Lanka. The T20 Series will help our preparations for the T20I World Cup, whilst the Test and ODI segments are also competitions of immense value for us, as we aim to move through the ICC World Test Championship rankings and also gearing up for the ICC Men's World Cup in 2023," said Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket.
In the 2016 tour of the Island Nation, Australia lost the Test series 3-0. But the visitors bounced back to win the ODIs 4-1 followed by a 2-0 clean sweep of the T20Is.
Australia's Tour of Sri Lanka
June 7: First T20, Colombo
June 8: Second T20, Colombo
June 11: Third T20, Kandy
June 14: First ODI, Kandy
June 16: Second ODI, Kandy
June 19: Third ODI, Colombo
June 21: Fourth ODI, Colombo
June 24: Fifth ODI, Colombo
June 29 - July 3: First Test, Galle
July 8-12: Second Test, Galle