India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be involved in a T20I tri-series -- Nidahas Trophy -- between March 6 and 18 in the island nation. All matches, including the final will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Rohit Sharma-led India take on the hosts in the tournament opener on Tuesday, after which the Asian gants will take on Bangladesh on Thursday, March 8.
The three-nation tournament is being held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Sri Lanka's independence. India are the highest-ranked team in the tournament at three, while the hosts and Bangladesh are ranked eight and 10, respectively.
Points table
| Team | Matches | Win | Draw | Loss | Tied | No Result | Points | NRR |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.297 |
| India | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.040 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.231 |
Tournament format
Each team will face other teams in the tournament in a double-legged round robin format. Two points will be awarded for a win, teams will share a point each in case of a draw or a No Result in a tie.
The top two teams at the end of the group stages will play the final in Colombo on March 18. Net Run Rate will come into play incase two teams are tied on points.
Teams missing big names
India decided to rest some of their key players, including skipper Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, keeping in mind the workload the said players had during their recent tour to South Africa. Sharma will lead a 15-member unit, which has quite a few young cricketers.
Hosts Sri Lanka have assembled a full strength squad but they will miss veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews due to injury concerns. On the other hand, explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella was dropped for the series.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh will be without skipper Shakib al Hasan, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury. In his absence, Mahmudullah Riyad will lead the side.
Nidahas Trophy 2018 - Date, time and venues
| Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| March 6 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 1st T20I Sri Lanka v India | Colombo |
| March 8 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 2nd T20I India v Bangladesh | Colombo |
| March 10 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 3rd T20I Sri Lanka v Bangladesh | Colombo |
| March 12 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 4th T20I Sri Lanka v India | Colombo |
| March 14 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 5th T20I Bangladesh v India | Colombo |
| March 16 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | 6th T20I Sri Lanka v Bangladesh | Colombo |
| March 18 | 7pm IST, 7pm local, 1:30pm GMT | Final | Colombo |
Live streaming and TV schedule
India: TV - DSport, DD National; Live stream - Watch DSport, DSport on Jio TV, Airtel TV
Bangladesh: TV - GTV
Sri Lanka: SLRC (Channel Eye); Live stream - Channel Eye
UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Middle East: Yupp TV
