Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan in 2019–20
| Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan in 2019–20 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | Sri Lanka | ||
| Dates | 27 September – 23 December 2019 | ||
| Captains |
Azhar Ali (Tests) Sarfaraz Ahmed (ODIs and T20Is) |
Dimuth Karunaratne (Tests) Lahiru Thirimanne (ODIs) Dasun Shanaka (T20Is) | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Pakistan won the 2-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Abid Ali (321) | Oshada Fernando (146) | |
| Most wickets | Shaheen Afridi (8) | Lahiru Kumara (7) | |
| Player of the series | Abid Ali (Pak) | ||
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | Pakistan won the 3-match series 2–0 | ||
| Most runs | Babar Azam (146) | Danushka Gunathilaka (147) | |
| Most wickets | Usman Shinwari (6) | Wanindu Hasaranga (3) | |
| Player of the series | Babar Azam (Pak) | ||
| Twenty20 International series | |||
| Results | Sri Lanka won the 3-match series 3–0 | ||
| Most runs | Sarfaraz Ahmed (67) | Bhanuka Rajapaksa (112) | |
| Most wickets |
Mohammad Hasnain (3) Mohammad Amir (3) | Wanindu Hasaranga (8) | |
| Player of the series | Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) | ||
The Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 2019 to play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches against the Pakistan cricket team. The tour originally had two Test matches scheduled to take place, but these were moved to December 2019. Sri Lanka last played a match in Pakistan in October 2017, when the third T20I took place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Pakistan won the ODI series 2–0, after the first match was washed out, and Sri Lanka won the T20I series 3–0.
Several players in Sri Lanka's squad opted not to travel for the series, with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka named as ODI and T20I captains respectively. Despite Pakistan failing to reach the semi-finals of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, Sarfaraz Ahmed was retained as the captain of the team for the tour, with Babar Azam named as vice-captain. Sarfaraz later said that leading the Pakistan team at home "will be one of the highlights of my career".
Following the limited overs matches, Sri Lanka returned to Pakistan in December 2019 to play two Test matches. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. It was the first time in ten years that Test cricket was played in Pakistan.
The first Test match finished as a draw, with significant amounts of play lost to rain and bad light. Pakistan's Abid Ali scored 109 not out to become the first male cricketer to score a century on debut in a Test and ODI match. Following the first Test, Sri Lanka's captain Dimuth Karunaratne expressed his regret in not playing in the limited-overs matches, and said that "Pakistan is now safe for cricket". Pakistan won the second Test match by 263 runs, to give them a 1–0 series win, and their first Test victory in Pakistan in ten years. Following the win, Pakistan's Test captain Azhar Ali said that "it carried great importance and was very significant because we were playing our first home Test series".