India is set to play a day-night Test in Bengaluru against Sri Lanka, and will now also play the T20I leg of the tour first – a reversal of what had been originally scheduled.
The dates are still being tweaked, but the BCCI appears to have agreed to Sri Lanka Cricket’s request to play the shorter format first, to allow a smoother bubble-to-bubble transfer of their T20I squad, who will have just concluded a series in Australia.
The first Test will now be played in Mohali, with the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, set to host the tour-ending pink-ball Test. Dharamsala is likely to open the tour with the first two T20Is before the teams proceed to Mohali for the final game.
Another reason for the change as per a Karnataka State Cricket Association official is Bengaluru offers direct connectivity to Colombo, which would then allow Sri Lanka to fly home without a stopover.
Reluctant for long to host pink-ball Tests, the BCCI came onboard with the idea for the first time when they hosted Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in November 2019.
