Australia's tour of Sri Lanka to go ahead as planned

In the latest development, Australia's tour of Sri Lanka is set to go ahead as planned, despite the ongoing internal turmoil in Sri Lanka.

Both Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Cricket Australia (CA) issued confirmation to this effect on Thursday.

In an interaction with Cricbuzz, the Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Mohan de Silva said, "As of now, there is no change." CA are set to announce the squad on Friday morning. Along with the senior team, they are also sending an A squad to the Island nation.

The security team of CA had a full round inspection amid the protests in the country boiling up due to the internal crisis. The security team have been satisfied, and the tour will be going ahead as planned.

The series will comprise 3 T20Is, 5 ODIs, and 2 Tests and will be played between June 7 and July 12. It will be the first tour of the Australian team to Sri Lanka since 2016.

The Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy will be venues for the eight white-ball games. Galle will host the two Test matches. On the other hand, Colombo and Hambantota will be the venues for Australia A.

In the last tour to Sri Lanka in 2016, Australia suffered a shattering 0-3 loss and would look to better their performances in this tour.

The former Sri Lanka cricketers have doubted the board's ability to conduct the tournaments amid the crisis. The Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka later this year, and the Asian Cricket Council is expected to take the decision after this series.