Sri Lanka Tour of India 2026: T20I & ODI Schedule, Pune Decider

Sri Lanka's 2026 tour of India is the white-ball block sitting between the West Indies series and the headline Border-Gavaskar Trophy in early 2027. Three T20Is and three ODIs are pencilled in across November and December — the third T20I has already been confirmed for December 27 at the MCA Stadium, Pune, by the BCCI's indicative calendar, with the rest of the fixtures awaiting formal announcement.

This is the first full Sri Lanka tour of India of the Charith Asalanka captaincy era. Wanindu Hasaranga remains the spine of the bowling unit, but Angelo Mathews' international future is openly discussed in Colombo, and the Sri Lanka batting unit — Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama — is the youngest white-ball top six the country has fielded in a decade. For India, the tour is the formal start of the Asia Cup 2027 preparation arc, with that tournament scheduled in Bangladesh in August-September 2027.

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Series at a glance

• Tour window: Mid-November to late December 2026 (subject to BCCI announcement)
• Format: 3 T20Is + 3 ODIs (total 6 white-ball matches)
• Host: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
• Visitors: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)
• Confirmed fixture: 3rd T20I, December 27, 2026, Pune (MCA Stadium)
• Broadcast (India): Star Sports network (TV) and JioHotstar (digital)

This is a white-ball-only tour. There is no Test leg — Sri Lanka's next India Test series is provisionally scheduled for the 2027-28 cycle. The absence of a Test leg reflects two things: the WTC 2025-27 calendar has filled India's Test slots with West Indies, South Africa (separate ICC obligations) and Australia, and Sri Lanka's own Test rotation has prioritised home Tests against bigger draws.

For the wider context of every series India hosts this winter, the India home season 2026-27 master schedule is the page to bookmark.

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Full schedule (provisional)

#	Match	Dates	Likely venue	Start time (IST)
1	1st T20I	December 19, 2026	Guwahati (Barsapara)	7:00 PM
2	2nd T20I	December 23, 2026	Visakhapatnam (ACA-VDCA)	7:00 PM
3	3rd T20I	December 27, 2026	Pune (MCA Stadium) ✅ confirmed	7:00 PM
4	1st ODI	January 1, 2027	Bengaluru (Chinnaswamy)	1:30 PM
5	2nd ODI	January 4, 2027	Chennai (MA Chidambaram)	1:30 PM
6	3rd ODI	January 7, 2027	Mohali (PCA Stadium)	1:30 PM

A few notes on the calendar:

• Pune as a confirmed T20I venue: This is the only fixture on the Sri Lanka tour confirmed by the BCCI's indicative calendar so far. December 27 also locks Pune out of the simultaneous Australia tour planning, which is one reason the BGT begins later in January (more on that in our Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2027 hub).
• Why November-December? The window sits between the end of the West Indies tour (late October) and the start of the Australia tour proper (mid-January). It is the natural slot for a six-match white-ball series.
• Slight overlap with Zimbabwe? The ODIs may overlap by a few days with the Zimbabwe ODI on January 3 at Eden Gardens. India will likely run two squads in parallel for that brief period, with senior players in the Sri Lanka ODI squad and fringe players against Zimbabwe.

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Likely venues

T20I venues: Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, Pune

The three T20Is are likely to be split across regional centres:

• Guwahati (Barsapara Stadium): Cooler December evenings make it a comfortable T20I venue. The pitch tends to be batter-friendly with shorter dimensions square of the wicket.
• Visakhapatnam (ACA-VDCA): Increasingly a fixture in India's short-format rotation. Slow surface relative to the rest of the rotation, with assistance for spinners.
• Pune (MCA Stadium): Confirmed for December 27. Quality T20I venue with a track that has historically produced 180+ first-innings totals.

Other venues on the shortlist: Lucknow (Ekana) and Mohali (PCA) for the T20I leg, Indore (Holkar) as an outside chance.

ODI venues: Bengaluru, Chennai, Mohali

For the three ODIs:

• Bengaluru (Chinnaswamy): A classic ODI venue with the Chinnaswamy track increasingly batter-friendly under lights at this time of year.
• Chennai (MA Chidambaram): A Chepauk ODI in early January is unusual but matches Sri Lanka's preferred conditions — slow, spin-friendly, and historically a venue where they have done well in white-ball cricket.
• Mohali (PCA): Cool early-January evenings, slightly more pace and bounce. A useful test for Sri Lanka's spinners against an India batting unit that will have spent the previous month at warmer venues.

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How to watch

In India, every match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network (TV) and streamed on JioHotstar (digital), with English and Hindi commentary, plus regional language feeds (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali) on Star's sub-channels.

For international viewers:

• Sri Lanka: SLC's designated broadcast partner (typically Sirasa TV and ThePapare).
• United Kingdom: TNT Sports (subject to rights deal renewal).
• United States and Canada: Willow TV / Willow by Cricbuzz.
• Australia and New Zealand: Fox Cricket / Sky NZ.
• Rest of the world: Star Sports network and ICC's international rights partners.

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Head-to-head record

Here is the white-ball head-to-head between India and Sri Lanka, accurate to the start of the 2026 series:

Format	Played	India won	Sri Lanka won	NR / Tied
ODIs	~170	100	60	10
T20Is	~30	22	8	0

India have been overwhelmingly dominant in T20Is, particularly in the post-2017 era. The ODI record is more balanced — Sri Lanka had long, competitive ODI runs against India in the 2008-2014 window, before India pulled ahead decisively from 2015 onwards. The most recent bilateral series have favoured India by 3-0 or 2-1 margins.

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The Asalanka era: Sri Lanka in transition

To understand the 2026 tour, you have to understand where Sri Lanka cricket sits.

Charith Asalanka took over white-ball captaincy formally in late 2024 after Hasaranga's captaincy stint ended. He is, by some distance, the most respected senior player in the dressing room — a tactically calm, low-ego leader who has the buy-in of the new generation (Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana). Around him sits a core that is functionally young: Kusal Mendis behind the stumps, Pathum at the top, Kamindu at five (one of the most underrated batters in world cricket right now), Wanindu Hasaranga as the spin-bowling all-rounder talisman, and Theekshana as the off-spin death-overs specialist.

The two senior players whose careers are visibly in their final phase: Wanindu Hasaranga (managing chronic hamstring issues) and Angelo Mathews (now closer to a Test specialist, with white-ball appearances increasingly rare). The tour of India will almost certainly feature Hasaranga but is unlikely to feature Mathews — and Sri Lankan cricket media has begun openly discussing whether either player has another full international assignment beyond this calendar year.

For Indian fans, this is a chance to see the next-generation Sri Lankan side in person, and to understand why ICC events from 2027 onwards may feature a more competitive Sri Lanka than the past five years suggested.

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Squad watch

Full squads will be announced approximately ten days before each leg.

India

• T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain). Largely the same group as the 2026 T20 World Cup squad — Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj. The selectors may use this series to give game time to fringe T20I options ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
• ODI squad: This is the more interesting block. The 2027 ODI World Cup is roughly nine months away by series start, and India's ODI top six will be increasingly under selectorial scrutiny. Expect Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (if both are still in the ODI plan), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, with Sai Sudharsan and Riyan Parag pushing for spots.

Sri Lanka

• T20I squad: Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Binura Fernando.
• ODI squad: Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Janith Liyanage.

The big squad questions on the SL side: Wanindu Hasaranga's fitness (chronic hamstring issues), Angelo Mathews' selection (likely no, but the SLC selectors have surprised before), and the succession plan at the top of the order if Pathum Nissanka is rested.

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The four storylines we are tracking

1. India's ODI top order — Rohit and Kohli's ODI futures

The 2027 ODI World Cup auditioning is real. This series is the first proper opportunity for the selectors to trial alternative top-six combinations against meaningful international opposition. If both Rohit and Kohli play, the top six is settled. If either is rested, the audition begins.

2. Hasaranga's last India tour?

Wanindu Hasaranga has been managing chronic hamstring problems for over two years. He has spoken publicly about prioritising T20 leagues over white-ball internationals. The 2026 India tour may well be his final bilateral white-ball series in India. If you are a Hasaranga fan, watch this series.

3. Asia Cup 2027 prep

India's Asia Cup 2027 will be in Bangladesh in August-September 2027, in ODI format. The conditions in Bangladesh will be slow, spin-friendly, and similar to Chepauk and Visakhapatnam. The Sri Lanka tour ODIs are, in effect, conditions-prep for that tournament.

4. T20 World Cup 2026 squad confirmation

The five-match T20I leg against West Indies in October, plus this three-match leg against Sri Lanka, gives India eight T20Is in the run-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup. By the end of this series, the squad of 15 should essentially be locked in.

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What to expect from the conditions

Late November to early January is one of India's best cricketing windows — cool evenings, dry pitches, and minimal weather risk.

• Guwahati in December: Cool evenings (around 10-15°C low, 25°C high). Slight dew factor for the second innings.
• Visakhapatnam in late December: Mild and dry. Slow ODI surface, T20I matches play 170-180 first innings.
• Pune in late December: Cool evenings. Quality T20I track that produces 180-200 first innings.
• Bengaluru, Chennai, Mohali in early January: All three are dry, batting-friendly ODI surfaces. Expect 280-320 first innings.

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Tickets and on-ground info

Ticket sales open approximately 3-4 weeks before each match through the host association's official portal — typically BookMyShow or Paytm Insider. T20I tickets typically start at ₹1,200, ODI day-tickets typically start at ₹1,000.

Key tips:

• Buy through the official portal announced by the host association — third-party resellers typically inflate prices and risk invalid tickets at the gate.
• Photo ID matching the booking name is required at the gate.
• Each venue has a published prohibited-items list (no DSLR cameras at most, no outside food and drink, no large bags).

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Why this tour matters

For Indian fans, a Sri Lanka white-ball series can feel like a lower-stakes fixture between marquee Test series. That misreads the moment. This is the first full Sri Lanka tour of the Asalanka era, the first Asia Cup 2027 preparation block, and quite possibly the last India tour for Wanindu Hasaranga if his fitness does not hold.

For Sri Lanka, this is more than a tour. It is the chance to prove — in front of Indian crowds, on Indian pitches — that the rebuild has cleared the worst phase. We will be live with previews, pitch reports, playing XIs, ball-by-ball updates and post-match analysis throughout. Bookmark this hub — it is the home page for every CricJosh piece on the series.

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Quick links

• Master season schedule: India home season 2026-27 — every tour, every format
• West Indies series first: West Indies tour of India 2026 — Tests, ODIs & T20Is
• Border-Gavaskar 2027: Australia tour of India 2027 — BGT Tests
• Zimbabwe in January: Zimbabwe tour of India 2027 — Eden Gardens ODI
• WTC primer: ICC WTC rules and points system

For more cricket previews, see our domestic cricket category.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Sri Lanka tour of India 2026 start? The tour is provisionally scheduled to begin on December 19, 2026, with the first T20I at Guwahati. The third T20I has been confirmed for December 27, 2026, at Pune (MCA Stadium). The three ODIs are then expected in early January 2027.

Where can I watch India vs Sri Lanka 2026 live in India? Every match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network (TV) and streamed on JioHotstar (digital), with English and Hindi commentary, plus regional language feeds (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali) on Star's sub-channels.

Is the third T20I at Pune on December 27 confirmed? Yes. The MCA Stadium in Pune has been confirmed by the BCCI's indicative international calendar as the host venue for the third T20I on December 27, 2026. It is the only fixture on the Sri Lanka tour formally confirmed at this stage.

Will Wanindu Hasaranga play this tour? Subject to fitness. Hasaranga has been managing chronic hamstring issues for over two years, and his white-ball international workload has been carefully managed. He is expected to be selected for both the T20I and ODI legs, but is not expected to play every match.

Why is there no Test series on this tour? Sri Lanka's next India Test series is provisionally scheduled for the 2027-28 cycle. The 2026-27 WTC slots in India's home calendar have been filled by West Indies and Australia, with no room for a Sri Lanka Test leg this season.

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The Sri Lanka tour of India 2026 is short, but it is meaningful — for the Asalanka era, for Hasaranga's legacy, for India's 2027 ODI World Cup planning, and for the Pune fixture that has already been locked in.