India vs Sri Lanka Cricket XI: Team India will take on Sonal Dinusha-led Sri Lanka Cricket XI in a three-day practice match at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo, beginning on August 7, Saturday. With the two-Test series to follow carrying heavy weightage for both sides, given the World Test Championship (WTC) final spot at stake, the warm-up fixture will be vital to acclimatise to the conditions that should be heavily favourable to spin.
From Sri Lanka Cricket XI, the likes of Vishwa Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara and Pavan Rathnayake have played for the national side. With the squad for the Test series yet to be announced, all four will look to push their case for a spot in the national team if picked in the XI.
As for India, it will be interesting to see which players will get a hit out. Only Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have played Test cricket before in Sri Lanka and most of the visiting cricketers desperately need the game to get used to the conditions. The batters who are pencilled in to play the series-opener should most likely play.
India vs Sri Lanka Cricket XI: Where to watch the match in India?
The live telecast of the warm-up fixture will be available on Ten Sports in India, while fans can stream it live on SonyLiv app and website with a subscription. The match begins at 10:00 AM IST.
India vs Sri Lanka Cricket XI: Where to watch the match in India?
For fans in Sri Lanka, the live telecast will be available on Sony Sports 1 (Dialog TV Ch. 64) and Sony Sports 1 HD (Dialog TV Ch. 140). The live streaming will be available on Dialog Play App.
India vs Sri Lanka Cricket XI: B Sai Sudharsan set to be missing from India’s line-up
Meanwhile, India will likely have B Sai Sudharsan missing the practice match, given he is reportedly yet to link up with the squad. The left-hander, who had a toe niggle, has started batting at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and is expected to join the squad on August 8, Sunday. Thus, the tourists will have Devdutt Padikkal as a stand-by option if they need him to bat at No.3 in the series-opener at the Galle International Stadium, beginning on August 15. Nevertheless, the Chennai-born cricketer is expected to come to Sri Lanka and slot at No.3.
Team India had a mighty injury scare on Thursday at nets when Shubman Gill injured his right thumb when batting and fielding. However, he was okay after some treatment from the physio. The visitors have already been dealt a body blow in the form of Jasprit Bumrah’s knee injury, ruling him out of both Tests of the series. After the one-off Test against Mullanpur, where the World Test Championship (WTC) points weren’t at stake, the two-time WTC finalists yet again find themselves under pressure. They must beat Sri Lanka 2-0 to keep themselves in the reckong for the WTC final.
Apart from Sri Lanka, they have a series against New Zealand and Australia in this cycle. As for Sri Lanka, who are sixth, a place below India, are coming off a series loss to the West Indies. After facing India, their only Test series is likely against New Zealand in February 2027.