The year 2019 is done and dusted as India will begin a new year with a three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka. Owing to an intense workload in 2019, Rohit Sharma has opted to rest in the series, while pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah will make his comeback having been out of action for four months due to his lower back stress fracture. It hasn’t been a great year for Shikhar Dhawan either who missed out World Cup 2019 and other tournaments due to injury.

He will also be making his comeback and would be eager to score runs and make his case stronger for the T20 World Cup 2020. Mohammed Shami has been rested for the series, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar will miss out due to respective injuries. It will be an ideal chance for the likes of Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur who would look to make an impression in the three T-20 internationals.

Sri Lanka will have a tough task in hand, who haven’t won a single bilateral series in any format against India in the last decade. Moreover, The Islanders record in T20s against India is nothing but dismal. Both sides have played 16 T20s between them, with India winning 11 of them and Sri Lanka managing to win just five.

Indian batsmen are likely to pose a big worry to Sri Lanka bowling – An attack which looks depleted with spinner Akila Dananjaya banned for a year, and Nuwan Pradeep ruled out due to injury. The side will be lead by Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, while Angelo Mathews will be making his comeback in the T20 squad after 16 months.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the India-Sri Lanka three-match T20 series:

1st T20:
Date: January 5
Venue: Baraspara Stadium, Guwahati

2nd T20:
Date: January 7
Venue: Holkar Stadium, Indore

3rd T20:
Date: January 10
Venue: MCA Stadium, Pune