India are to play Sri Lanka in the first T20I but it might not happen at all because Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency. The emergency has been declared for 10 days because of the communal tensions between Buddhists and Muslims.
According to Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) press release,
There have been reports of curfew and an emergency being called in Sri Lanka. The situation in the picture is Kandy and not Colombo. This is to notify everyone that after talking to concerned security personnel (Ministerial security division – in charge of team security) we have understood that the situation is completely normal in Colombo. If at all there is any update on the same we shall notify.
As per BCCI’s press release, the tension is in Kandy and not Colombo. The first T20I is scheduled at 7 PM IST on March 6 and the match is expected to be played as scheduled. We might see a decreased crowd strength due to the emergency. Thankfully, all the T20Is between March 6 and March 18 are at be played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
This T20I series is a golden chance for India to climb up the ICC T20I rankings. They are currently placed third after Pakistan and Australia, whereas Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are placed 8th and 10th respectively.
The tri-nation T20I series is also a chance for Rohit Sharma to reinvent himself in the shortest format of the game and for youngsters to prove their worth in the absence of bigger players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and others.
Squads:
India –
Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant
Lot of intensity during practice on the eve of the 1st game of the Nidahas Trophy. An exciting contest awaits here in Colombo. Action starts soon #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/NLVZRRnDap
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 6, 2018
Sri Lanka –
Dinesh Chandimal(c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera
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That’s what the three teams are playing for – The Nidahas Trophy which is all set to begin from the 6th of March 2018 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/MO8gGuTdWz
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2018
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Bangladesh –
Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed, Taskin Ahmed, Imrul Kayes, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Liton Das
