Three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) are planned for the South Africa cricket team to compete in Sri Lanka in September 2021. All the matches will be played in a bio-secure enclosure at the R. Premadasa Stadium. On September 2-7, the ODIs will be played. On September 10-14, the T20Is will be played.
South Africa's men's ODI series against Sri Lanka in September 2021 will feature a depleted lineup, potentially complicating their chances of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup. ODI series in Sri Lanka will be played without Quinton de Kock, David Miller, and Lungi Ngidi. Hopefully, they'll be back for the T20Is that come after this one.
Quinton de Kock has been rested for the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka. Because of his hamstring injury, David Miller will be out of the game. Lungi Ngidi is not included due to "personal circumstances", according to CSA. Bjorn Fortuin was also kept out of the ODI series.
The sole new rising player in the ODI team is Junior Dala. Though Dala is not in the T20I squad, de Kock, Miller, and Ngidi are expected to play in those games. After coming home from the Caribbean ODI series with an ankle problem, Sisanda Magala is also in contention for the T20I series. A week after healing from Covid-19, Dwaine Pretorius has been chosen to both squads.
Temba Bavuma captains a significantly depleted ODI squad as South Africa attempts to redeem a loss in Ireland in July. After a washout and their first-ever loss to the competitors, they tied the series at 1-1. After major successes over the West Indies with 3-2 and Ireland 3-0, South Africa's strongest XI remains a mystery.
There will be a duel between Pretorius and Mulder for the role of a seam-bowling all-rounder. The team has also included four spinners: Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, Tabraiz Shamsi. Also, in both white-ball formats, South Africa has relied on a small group of hitters to lead them off. Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram are in the T20I squad, but Malan is not. As De Kock will be returning for the T20I series, they'll have plenty of choices at the top order.
Between September 2 and 14, South Africa will play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals in Colombo. South Africa stands at the 5th position in the ICC T20I ranking whereas Sri Lanka is holding the number 9th position.