India agrees to play T20 series against crisis-hit Sri Lanka
India has agreed to play Sri Lanka in a two-match T20 series before or after the Asia Cup to allow its close ally to earn some valuable foreign currency. Sri Lanka is in a major Forex crisis and cricket is the only sport that regularly brings in dollars to the country.
The Board of Control for India (BCCI) has been a generous friend, having helped its neighbour in times of trouble by sending their national team to Sri Lanka and they have agreed once again when Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) made a request.
As it was planned to take place on the sidelines of the Asia Cup, these matches, too, might now be played in UAE. “We are in the process of finalising the venue for the two-match series. But most probably it will be in UAE,” cricket sources said.
Despite Covid-19 hitting the Indian camp, they concluded a limited-over series in Sri Lanka. The series initially involved only three ODIs but BCCI agreed to play three T20s on a request from its Sri Lankan counterpart. This, according to SLC officials, helped them to enhance its financial value in a big way. The series reportedly generated a revenue of US$ 14.5 million.
In 2017, Sri Lanka conducted a tri-series involving India, Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka that saw SLC generating a profit of nearly Rs. 1 billion.