India will play a tri-series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in March 2018, as a part of Sri Lanka’s 70th year of independence celebrations. The series will be played in a T20 format.
Sri Lanka cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipalas confirmed this news at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and BCB President Nazmul Hassan were also present at the media briefing in Colombo.
The tri-series will start from 15th March and will end on 31st March.
The series will provide another opportunity for India to prepare for the 2019 World Cup in England. When the tri-series starts, there will only be a year’s preparation left for India to prepare for the World Cup, The series will offer India a nice opportunity to try out different team compositions. The series will allow Indian skipper Virat Kohli and the Indian team management to better gauge which members of the squad will become the core members of the squad, which will challenge to win the World Cup in 2019.
A similar opportunity will be provided to Sri Lanka in home conditions and also for Bangladesh, who are also likely to be dangerous teams, heading into the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Even though the series will be played in a T20 format, Virat Kohli has previously stated that it provides India with an opportunity to practice their skills, which are also implemented in the longer format of the game. This series will be no different for India, with the T20I and the ODI teams having the same set of core players.
