Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha says the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will serve as a dress rehearsal ahead of the T20 World Cup, with the former champions set to play all their tournament games in the island.

The series gets underway in Dambulla on Wednesday, with the remaining two matches scheduled for Friday and Sunday at the same venue.

With diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India strained, Pakistan will play the World Cup under the hybrid model, featuring exclusively in Sri Lanka. Should they go the distance, both their semi-final and final will be staged in Colombo.

Although Dambulla is not a World Cup venue, Agha believes the series offers his side a golden opportunity to play in similar conditions and test their bench strength.

“We are playing all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and this series will help us get familiar with the conditions,” Agha told reporters on Tuesday. “We do travel here often, but playing a competitive series just before the World Cup is ideal, especially as some of our players haven’t played much cricket here.”

Pakistan will be without several marquee names, with Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf currently plying their trade in Australia’s Big Bash League.

“They are mega stars and they’ve done well for us. We will miss them, no doubt,” Agha said. “But this is also an opportunity to try out new players and hopefully they will put their hands up.”

One boost for Pakistan is the return of all-rounder Shadab Khan, back in action after being sidelined since June last year with injury.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be led by Dasun Shanaka, who has been handed the captaincy through to the World Cup. The skipper admitted there are areas to fix after a mixed run in recent months.

“Our top order has done well in the last few series, but we need to sort out the middle order,” Shanaka said. “There were a few lapses and we are keen to address them before the World Cup. One key area was our strike rate between overs six and 15. We’ve worked on it during training and now we need to execute it in the middle.”

Shanaka also explained the recall of all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, who returns to the T20 setup after a two-year absence.

“We needed someone who can steady the innings,” Shanaka said. “If he can hold things together, others can play their shots around him. He also gives us a bowling option and in our conditions spin is key.”

Pakistan Squad:

Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq.

Sri Lanka Squad:

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Traveen Mathew, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga.

The Yeti-SSC Open Tennis Championship, one of the most prestigious and long-standing national tennis tournaments, will be held from January 9 to 25 at the SSC Courts in Maitland Place.

The 2026 Yeti-SSC Open Championship will feature a comprehensive line-up of events including Boys’ and Girls’ Singles and Doubles (Under-12 to Under-18), Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles as well as Veterans categories (Over 35, 45 and 55).

The SSC Open Championships are officially recognised as a Category 1 National Ranking Tournament sanctioned by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) and traditionally mark the commencement of Sri Lanka’s annual competitive tennis calendar.

The 2026 edition is expected to draw more than 1,000 junior and senior participants, further reinforcing its position as one of the country’s most eagerly awaited tennis events.

The tournament is set to showcase thrilling performances from leading national players including the current Men’s national champion Apna Perera, Women’s national champion Dinara De Silva, Davis Cup players Ashen Silva and Thehan Wijemanne, as well as top-ranked juniors such as Ganuka Fernando (Boys’ Under-18) and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi(Girls’ Under-18), among many other prominent competitors.

Under 19 Cricket

An unbeaten century in the first innings and a half century in the second by Adesh Almeida and valuable contributions in the second innings from Koshendra Fernando and Chamath Wellalage helped St. Sebastians’ force a draw to their Under 19 encounter against St. Joseph’s at Moratuwa on Tuesday.

‎Nushan Perera and Vishwa Peiris were responsible for most of the damage as they took theJoes almost close to an innings victory.

‎Forced to follow on, the Sebs were heading for a possible defeat but number ten batsman Navinu Fernando kept his cool to bat through to the finish. He faced more than 20 balls to score four runs not out.

‎Match Results

‎Sebs force a draw at Moratuwa

‎Scores

‎St. Joseph’s 344 all out in 79.1 overs

(Yenula Danthanarayana 74, Aveesha Samash 52, Rishma Amarasinghe 90, Chethina Kavinda 70, Dilpa Ruwanaka 28; Koshendra Fernando 5/115, Shenash Hashein 3/51, Navinu Fernando 2/65)

‎St. Sebastians’ 37 for 3 overnight 192 all out in 59.1 overs (Adesh Almeida 105n.o., Koshendra Fernando 45; Nushan Perera 6/38, Disinu Samarasinghe 2/68,

‎Vishwa Peiris 2/58) and 151 for 9 in 54 overs (Chamath Wellalage 33, Adesh Almeida 50, Koshendra Fernando 22; Nushan Perera 3/59, Vishwa Peiris 6/50)

‎Petes earn first innings points against Royal at Bambalapitiya

‎Scores

‎Royal 347 all out in 80 overs

(Rehan Peiris 125, Thevindu Wewalwala 20, Manuth Dasanayake 71, Himaru Deshan 58; Thenura Dissanayake 2/74, Janith Panditharathne 6/103) and 71 for no loss in 22 overs

‎St. Peter’s 54 for 2 overnight 361 for 6 in 80 overs

(Asadisa de Silva 134, Shavidu Silva 53, Joshua Sebastian 93, Enosh Peterson 31n.o., Sadeesha Silva 33n.o.; Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi 3/50, Ramiru Perera 2/98)

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‎No decision at Asgiriya

‎Scores

‎Trinity 153 all out in 52.3 overs (Praveen Mithila 47, Santhosh Kritheekshan 34; Geeth Sandaruwan 3/33, Thenuja Rashmin 3/35, Venura Kaveethra 2/34)

‎Mahanama 5 for 1 overnight 101 for 3 in 37 overs

(Venura Kaveethra 42n.o., Sanul Weerarathne 32n.o., Kaushika Thilakarathne 19)

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‎Cambrians take first innings honours against Nalanda at Campbell Place

‎Scores

‎Nalanda 226 all out in 79 overs

(Nadul Jayalath 25, Santhul Wijerathna 46, Nemindu Akmeemana 27, Osanda Pamuditha 66, Dunitha Anusara 40; Nadul Aponso 6/53, Nethul Anuhas 4/67) and 101 for 7 in 33 overs (Shehan Ashein 5/20)

‎Prince of Wales 50 for no loss overnight 303 for 9 in 80 overs

(Palingu Perera 33, Suwas Fernando 63, Oshan de Silva 43, Gaveesha Fernando 59, Pasan Cooray 51; Osanda Pamuditha 2/32, Malsha Fernando 2/65) (RF)

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