The Australia cricket team landed in Sri Lanka on July 1 to play an all-format series against the island nation which is experiencing its worst financial, political and social crisis in over seven decades.

Sri Lanka will be hosting Australia in three T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests, with the series beginning on June 7 in Colombo.

Ahead of the first T20I next week, Australian white-ball skipper Finch said that they are hoping to bring some joy to cricket fans in Sri Lanka amid the difficult situation the sri Lankan population is going through.

Finch said: “We are here to play cricket. Hopefully, we can bring some joy, and some entertainment to Sri Lanka … This is the first time we’re here since 2016, which is such a long gap. It’s such a special place to tour. The hospitality that you get here, the friendliness, and their love for the game is unbelievable.”

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There are doubts over the day-night games due to the protests and frequent power cuts in Sri Lanka.

On being asked about the same, the Aussie skipper said: “It’s well and truly above my pay grade. But all that stuff was ticked off between the two boards and the governments before the tour went ahead.”

He continued, “Whether they shift the games to day games, I’m not sure what’s going to happen … but over the last week or so, I haven’t heard any complaints (from teammates).”

Finch also warned Australia against taking the hosts lightly in the upcoming T20I series.

He signed off by saying, “We had a couple of close series against them … they are a very dangerous side. If you just look at the top order, you’ve got Kusal there who can be as damaging as anyone on his day and obviously, Hasaranga has had an unbelievable couple of years in T20 cricket.”

(With Reuters Inputs)