The Board of Control for Cricket in India has moved the first India Sri Lanka ODI from New Delhi to Visakhapatnam, with the match still set for 13 December 2026. The ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium will host the series opener after the Delhi and District Cricket Association asked for the fixture to be shifted out of the Arun Jaitley Stadium. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia announced the change on Thursday, 5 November, and confirmed the date and start time stay the same.
The Delhi association gave two reasons for asking the India Sri Lanka ODI to move: the risk of weather disruption in December and proposed renovation work at the stadium. Cricbuzz reported that concerns over air quality in the capital were also behind the request, with a source saying the association wanted the match moved because of the air quality index in Delhi. Last December the capital recorded an average air quality index of 351, with similar levels recorded on Monday, 2 November, according to Cricbuzz. The stadium is also due for renovation work, and the association cited both the air and the building work in its request.
India Sri Lanka ODI moves after Delhi request
The request followed weeks of reports about the India Sri Lanka ODI fixture. IANS reported on 25 September that the game could move out of the capital because of a planned overhaul of the drainage system at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The BCCI had earlier denied reports that the match would shift to Ahmedabad, with Saikia saying there had been no such decision. With the Delhi association itself asking for the move, the board agreed and named Visakhapatnam as the replacement venue.
Saikia said in his statement that the venue change was made following a request from the Delhi and District Cricket Association, in view of the potential weather disruption and the proposed renovation work at the stadium. The statement put the change in formal terms, and the board confirmed Visakhapatnam as the new host on the same day. The match keeps its place as the first of three ODIs on the Sri Lanka tour, and the teams will open the white ball series on the Andhra coast instead of in the capital.
The rest of the series stays as planned. The second India Sri Lanka ODI is scheduled for Bengaluru on 16 December, and the third will be played in Ahmedabad on 19 December. The tour has six matches in total, with three ODIs followed by three Twenty20 internationals. The first ODI will now be played on the east coast, and the teams will then travel to Bengaluru for the second match of the series.
What the India Sri Lanka ODI move means for Delhi
Delhi has not hosted an international fixture in December for nearly nine years, and the last ODI at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was the Bangladesh against Sri Lanka match at the 2023 ODI World Cup. The December air in the capital is a regular concern, and the Delhi association did not want to risk an international match in those conditions. The stadium work and the weather outlook together made hosting the India Sri Lanka ODI on 13 December impractical for the association.
Visakhapatnam has hosted ODIs before, and the ACA-VDCA ground will now stage the opening India Sri Lanka ODI. Tickets and travel plans for the fixture will shift to the Andhra coast, and the BCCI will confirm the remaining arrangements for the series in the coming weeks. The change affects only the venue, and the teams will still open the white ball series on the same date.
India Sri Lanka ODI series schedule stays unchanged
The India Sri Lanka ODI series opener in Visakhapatnam starts at 2 pm on 13 December, and the second and third matches follow in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. The white ball tour gives both sides six matches before the end of the year, and the ODI leg will be played first. For Delhi, the wait for an international fixture goes on, with renovation work and the winter air keeping the capital off the schedule for now.