The India’s tour of Sri Lanka will be starting from July 26 onwards, with the tour starting with a three-match T20I series. The tour will also consist of a three-match ODI series, which will kickstart from August 1 onwards. The Pallekele International Stadium will be hosting the T20I leg of the series while the R Premadasa is getting to host the 50-over matches, announced BCCI. The first T20I will take place on July 26, followed by the second one on July 27 and the final one on July 29.

Both teams will be taking to the field with new head coaches. While legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been named as the interim head coach for Lankans, this will also be the first assignment for former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir as the head coach, succeeding the T20 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid.

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Fixtures for the upcoming India tour of Sri Lanka announced! #TeamIndia | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/6HmvJXHprH

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 11, 2024

India’s last tour of Sri Lanka for a bilateral white-ball series came back in July 2021, with Dravid coaching the Shikhar Dhawan led side. India won the ODI series 2-1 while Sri Lanka secured the T20I series with same margin.

This will be India’s second T20I series after their T20 World Cup win, defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final. Currently, a new-look India side, led by Shubman Gill and coached by VVS Laxman is on a tour to Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series. The series is currently in India’s hands by 2-1, with the fourth T20I set to be played on Saturday at Harare.

On the other hand, the T20 World Cup was poor for Sri Lanka as they failed to reach the Super Eights. They lost to South Africa and Bangladesh in the group stage and could only register one win against the Netherlands. Their game against Nepal was washed out due to rain. With just three points, Lanka finished in the third spot in Group D.

Following Rohit Sharma’s announcement to retire from T20Is after winning the ICC T20 World Cup, all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to lead the Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul will lead the team in ODIs, as per the sources.

“Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the Indian team in the T20, Rohit Sharma’s announced his retirement. Hardik is also unlikely to be rested for the upcoming series vs Sri Lanka,” BCCI Sources told ANI.

In the T20 WC, Pandya scored 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 151.57, with a half-century and best score of 50*. He also took 11 wickets in eight games at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64, with the best figures of 3/20.

This tournament marked a redemption tale for Hardik, who was booed out in every stadium across India during the IPL 2024 after taking over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians (MI) from five-time IPL champion Rohit Sharma. The all-rounder, who was just making a comeback into the game after suffering an injury to his ankle in the 50-over World Cup last year, became a victim of online trolling and fan wars as he was accused of betraying the MI franchise, Rohit and his former franchise Gujarat Titans (GT), which he led to IPL title in 2022.

On the other hand, KL Rahul was omitted from the Men in Blue T20 WC squad despite performing brilliantly in the ODI World Cup 2023 which was held in India, scoring 452 runs in 11 games with a century and two fifties.

File image of Sri Lankan cricketer Wanindu Hasaranga.© X (Twitter)

Sri Lanka cricket team in action during T20 World Cup 2024© AFP

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have sought a longish break from the BCCI.© X (Twitter)

Ahmedabad:

Rakesh Ramanlal Shah, Chairman & Managing Director for GSEC Limited, has been appointed by the Sri Lanka government as the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, with consular jurisdiction covering Gujarat.

Mr Shah received his Commission of Appointment on Monday from High Commissioner Kshenuka Senewiratne, a statement by the High Commission said.

“The creation of this post is with the objective of strengthening Sri Lanka’s relations with that State, in view of the trade, investment and tourism potential. Gujarat has earned its reputation as one of the key States for leading industries in India, especially port development & infrastructure, renewable energy, ICT, chemical & petrochemical, agro & food, start-ups, pharmaceuticals and textiles,” it added.

Congratulating the new Honorary Consul on his appointment, High Commissioner Senewiratne highlighted the importance of elevating Sri Lanka’s engagements with Gujarat in all related sectors. Considering his business credentials, she noted that he is best placed to assist the High Commission in pursuing this objective to fruition.

Mr Shah pledged his support in working towards this end by formulating an action-oriented roadmap to chart out the trajectory for this purpose.

They discussed possible immediate areas of cooperation, especially connectivity-focused, to enhance tourism. The Indo-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry was identified as a framework to facilitate the economic linkages with Gujarat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File photo of Sanath Jayasuriya

President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the Presidential election as an independent candidate, his aide said on July 7.

Deputy Chairman of the United National Party Ruwan Wijewardene confirmed that the presidential election will definitely be held and Mr. Wickremesinghe, 75, will contest the election as an independent candidate, News 1st reported.

“Only one leader possesses the knowledge to solve Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. That is Ranil Wickremesinghe. He has proved it with his actions,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal.

On July 7, Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Ratnayake said the electoral body would be legally empowered after July 17 to announce the date for the election.

Mr. Ratnayake added that the commission will announce the date for the next presidential poll before the end of this month.

The Election Commission in May said the presidential election would be conducted between September 17 and October 16.

Mr. Ratnayake said the commission is currently in the process of putting final touches to the 2024 electoral register which will be the basis for the election. Over 17 million would be eligible to vote in the election as per the revised list, officials said.

In April 2022, the island nation declared its first-ever sovereign default since gaining Independence from Britain in 1948. The unprecedented financial crisis led President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit office in 2022 amid civil unrest over his inability to handle the crisis.

In July 2022, Mr. Wickremesinghe was elected through parliament to become stop-gap President for the balance term of Mr. Rajapaksa.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, also the Finance Minister, hasn’t made any public statement on his bid for re-election.

“This election isn’t merely about selecting individuals but about choosing the most effective system for our country’s progress. If you believe in the merits of the current approach, let us proceed accordingly,” the President’s Media Division quoted him as saying earlier.

The government under Mr. Wickremesinghe has set in place hard economic reforms as dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

President Wickremesinghe last month said that his government has finalised a long-delayed debt restructuring agreement for $5.8 billion with its bilateral lenders, including India and China, in Paris to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout.

Colombo:

Sri Lanka has decided to lift from next year a ban on the visit of foreign research ships imposed after strong security concerns raised by India and the US following frequent docking requests from hi-tech Chinese surveillance vessels, the Japanese media reported.

The change in position was conveyed by visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry to the NHK World Japan.

With the increased movement of Chinese research vessels in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi had expressed concern that those might be spy ships and urged Colombo not to allow such vessels to dock at its ports.

After India raised concern, Sri Lanka banned the entry of foreign research vessels from docking at its port in January. Earlier this year, it had made an exception for a Chinese vessel but said the ban would continue otherwise.

Sabry said his government cannot have different rules for different countries and only block China. He added that his country will not take sides in a dispute between others, the NHK World Japan said in a report on Friday.

The moratorium is till January next year. Sri Lanka will then no longer ban foreign research ships from its ports next year, Sabry said.

Two Chinese spy ships were allowed to dock in Sri Lanka ports within 14 months through November 2023, with one calling for replenishment and the other for research.

Chinese research ship Shi Yan 6 arrived in Sri Lanka in October 2023 and docked at Colombo port, for what Beijing cited as “geophysical scientific research” in collaboration with the island nation’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA).

The US had expressed concern to Sri Lanka before the arrival of Shi Yan 6.

In August 2022, Chinese navy vessel Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka for replenishment.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, Sabry also expressed gratitude for Japan’s plan to provide a ship equipped with sonar, which, he said, will give Sri Lanka “an opportunity to do its own survey and collect its own data, and commercially exploit it.” Sabry emphasised that Sri Lanka has untapped maritime resources, and research is essential, but it has to be done in a transparent manner, the NHK report added.

Located at a strategic point in the Indian Ocean, the island nation is an important stop for marine traffic between South East Asia and West Asia, which is part of the global trade route.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chinese research ship Shi Yan 6 is seen berthed at Colombo harbor, Sri Lanka. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Sri Lanka will resume permitting calls from foreign research vessels at its ports from next year, as the government “cannot only block China”.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry made the remarks to Japanese state media NHK World during his recent visit to Tokyo. Japan — along with India and France —is a co-chair of Sri Lanka’s Official Creditors’ Committee that on June 26, 2024 firmed up a debt treatment deal with Sri Lanka.