Sri Lankans reach Guwahati for T20Is

Guwahati, January 2

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The Sri Lankan cricket team, led by pacer Lasith Malinga, arrived here today for the three-match T20I series against India amid tight security after the city witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The Sri Lankan team headed straight to the team hotel under a thick security cover. The members of the Indian team are expected to arrive in batches tomorrow for the series-opener, to be played on Sunday. “Both the teams have optional training sessions tomorrow, Sri Lanka followed by India in the evening,” an official of the Assam Cricket Association said. About 27,000 tickets of the 39,500-capacity Barsapara Stadium have already been sold. The second T20 will be played in Indore on January 7 while Pune will host the final match of the series on January 10. The short series will mark the T20 World Cup countdown for the two neighbouring countries. Former skipper Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva have been recalled to the 16-member Sri Lankan squad. Mathews, last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018. The series will also mark the return of Jasprit Bumrah who has recovered from a lower back surgery. — PTI