Sri Lanka’s new head coach, Sanath Jayasuriya, said the team will be looking to take advantage of the absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja as Sri Lanka hosts India in a three-match T20I series starting July 27.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20 internationals after India’s win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June 2024.

India and Sri Lanka play three T2OIs in Pallekele on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday next, and Jayasuriya said the three players’ absence will hurt the Indian team’s balance and his team will be looking to take advantage of that. “Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the best players in the world. Looking at their talent and the kind of cricket they have played we all know where they belong, along with Jadeja. Their absence will be a loss to the Indian team and we have to take maximum advantage out of that,” he said.

Charith Asalanka will lead the Sri Lankan team for the T20I series and this will be the first full-time assignment for the new captain. Jayasuriya will be at the helm for the first time after replacing Chris Silverwood as the coach. Silverwood quit after Sri Lanka’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, where they lost in the first round.

Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando and uncapped all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe find their place in the team along with veteran Dinesh Chandimal.

India will also be opening a new chapter in their cricketing journey with new head coach Gautam Gambhir and new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar pipped Hardik Pandya for the job after Rohit’s retirement and Gambhir took over the reins from Rahul Dravid after the coach bowed out on a high after the T20 World Cup 2024.

After the three T20Is, Sri Lanka and India will play three ODIs in Colombo on August 2, August 4 and August 7.

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