There will be no 31st night bashes for the National Cricketers as they would be leaving for Bangladesh on New Year’s Day in 2010 for their tri-series assignment. This also means that three Lankans cricketers - Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga will not be able to take part in the Australian inter-state ‘T20 Big Bash’ which also has been drawn up during the same
period.Muralitharan was drawn up to play for Victoria while Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis were aligned with Tasmania and South Australia, respectively.
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| The Indian tour will be very crucial for the Lankans for more than one reason. |
Nevertheless the Tri-series also involving India will be played from the 4th to the 13th of January. The tournament will be played on 4th and 5th January 6th as a rest day and then continue 8-10 with each participant taking on each other twice. The two teams with the highest number of points will meet each other in the final on January 13th.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s assignment after the Champions Trophy will also be against India, which is a FTP tour. This tour will take the Sri Lankans to India from the 7th of November to the 24th of December this year.The Lankan authorities have made a request from their Indian counterparts to advance the tour by a week so that the Lankan cricketers, who will not have any international cricket from this point till then, would have a 3-day practice game before the first test.
When the Lankan team arrives in India the Australians who will be on an ODI tour of India will be at the tail end of their visit but, as the three day game will probably not involve any national players the BCCI in all probability will heed to the Lankan request of seeking a three-day practice match.
In India the Lankans are billed to play three Test matches and five one-day internationals.
There is also a likelihood of the next Asia Cup billed for April 2010 being staged in Sri Lanka. The Asian Cricket Council is looking at the possibilities of hosting this biggest cricket show in Asia in a non-Test playing nation.
But, the Lankan authorities who will also host some of the 2011 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka are trying to make this a good precursor to the big event. However the ACC is still to get back to Sri Lanka on this proposal. |
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