Indian women return to the international stage pumped by their maiden ODI World Cup title win at home recently. The spotlight now shifts decisively to the shortest format as India begin a crucial phase of their T20I journey. The first T20I against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam on Sunday marks the opening chapter of a five-match series that carries immense significance. This series forms nearly half of India’s limited preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup in England. With just 11 T20Is scheduled before that global event, this series will be highly crucial. India will have the opportunity to identify combinations, refine roles, and build the rhythm to strengthen themselves.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, arrive as a competitive and improving side and will be eager to test themselves against the world champions in their own backyard. Notably, they have not toured India for a bilateral women’s T20I series since 2016, when India secured a comprehensive 3–0 victory. A lot has changed since then. Sri Lanka will view this tour as a chance to measure their progress against one of the strongest teams in the world.
Head-to-head
Matches - 26
IND-W won - 20
SL-W won - 5
No result - 1
India possible XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh, N Shree Charani
Sri Lanka possible XI: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Manudi Nanayakkara, Inoka Ranaweera, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Shashini Gimhani, Malki Madara