India vs Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga and Co arrive in Guwahati ahead of three-match T20 series

The New Year for cricket fans begins with India taking on Sri Lanka in the three-match T20 series. 

The series begins in Guwahati and the Sri Lankan cricket team have arrived amid tight security after the city witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The team lead by Lasith Malinga headed straight to the hotel. 

As for the members of the Indian team, the Men in Blue are expected to arrive in batches.

“Both the teams have optional training sessions, Sri Lanka followed by India in the evening,” an official of the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) said.

About the CAA protest happening, ACA secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI, “Situation is absolutely normal now and tourism is back in the state. We are hosting Khelo India Games from January 10 and about seven thousand players will participate.

“It’s now safe as any other place in the country. The state government is looking after the security arrangement and there’s no issue at all.” 

In the 39,500-capacity Barasapra Stadium, about 27,000 tickets have already been sold out.

“People were busy with the Christmas and New Year celebrations. We are expecting a last-minute ticket rush now,” he said.

The second T20 will be played in Indore on January 7 while Pune will host the final match on January 10. 

Former skipper Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva have been recalled to the 16-member Sri Lankan squad. 

For India, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is making a comeback after recovering from lower back surgery. Opener Shikhar Dhawan will also be back as India's opener.

Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami have been rested for the three T20Is.

Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (captain), Danushka Gunatilleke, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksha, Dasan Fernando, Wanidu Raja, Kasun Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Moonakan.

India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar.