The Sri Lankan cricket team, led by veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, arrived in Guwahati for the three-match T20 series against India amid tight security. The members of the Indian team are expected to arrive in batches tomorrow for the series opener on Sunday.
 
The second T20 will be played in Indore on 7th of January while Pune will host the final match of the series on 10th of January. The short series will mark the Twenty20 World Cup countdown for the two neighbouring countries.  India to play eight T20Is, including five in New Zealand, ahead of their T20 World Cup opener against South Africa in Perth on 24th of October.

Former skipper Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva have been recalled to the 16-member Sri Lankan squad. Mathews last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018.  For India, the series will mark the return of their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah who has recovered from lower back surgery, while opener Shikhar Dhawan will also make a comeback. Opener Rohit Sharma and pacer Mohammed Shami have been rested for the three T20Is.