Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup build-up begins today

Three-match series against Bangladesh at Pallekele Hasaranga ruled out of series with hamstring injury

- By Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka’s buildup for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup ,which they will co-host with India in February-March, commences with the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh beginning at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today.

Although Sri Lanka has shown improvements in the red-ball format and in ODIs in white-ball, they have quite a few grey areas to fix when it comes to the shortest format, where they have not displayed the consistency that the ODI team has shown and are thereby ranked seventh.

"When we started, we discussed coming to number five in the T20I rankings. It’s a process and we are on that way. Consistency is key and we are yet to sort out our combination. We are in the process of identifying two or three players for those spots,” said Sri Lanka Saptain Charith Asalanka at the pre-match media conference.

“We have sufficient time to sort things out before the World Cup. The important thing is managing players. We have to give the players who come into the scene a decent run and keep them in good form. The Lanka Premier League (LPL) will take place before the World Cup and that’s a big thing for us.”

It is on the performance in the LPL that players for the national team are selected. In that aspect, Avishka Fernando finds a place in the team batting at number 4.