The Sri Lankan cricket team is set to embark on a tour of Zimbabwe in accordance with the FTP to play two tests, which will be succeeded by a tri-series including the West Indies.
The tour will commence in the first week of October and is expected to go on until the second week of November.
Sri Lanka, who are currently in England playing a three-match test series will then play a bilateral ODI series with Ireland and England before competing in a T20I, which will conclude their tour of England. A home series against Australia awaits them following the English tour and the tour of Zimbabwe will follow the Australian series.
Plans were afoot in 2013 by Zimbabwe Cricket to host Sri Lanka, but financial constraints forced the African nation to annul the tour. Sri Lanka is yet to face Zimbabwe in tests, who once rivalled Sri Lanka for the wooden spoon in test cricket, ever since their re-admission into cricket’s top format.
Sri Lanka’s last tour of Zimbabwe involved a triangular series including India, which the Sri Lankans managed to win. The islanders’ last test match in Zimbabwe was played in 2004, which resulted in a whitewash for the home side.
Zimbabwe has improved their performance in leaps and bounds in recent times, and the last time these two teams met, in a warm-up game ahead of the 2015 World Cup, Zimbabwe registered a 7 wicket win. With the young Sri Lankan team struggling to engender satisfiable performance, the tour of Zimbabwe will provide an opportunity to the youngsters to perform well against a relatively weak yet a very competent side.
