COLOMBO, March 26: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said on Wednesday it had been forced to change the itinerary for India’s tour of the island later this year because of a lack of hotel rooms due to a summit of South Asian leaders in the Sri Lankan capital.

The first Test, which was originally scheduled to be held in Galle, will now be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, SLC said in a release.

Galle will hold the second Test, while the third will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Cricket officials said the change was necessary because the dates clashed with the annual summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

“All hotels in Colombo are booked from July 27 to August 4 because of the meetings and we can’t find accommodation for the teams,” SLC secretary K. Mathivanan said.

India will also play five One-day Internationals against the hosts after the Test series.

Revised schedule:

July 18-20: Three-day warm-up match (Colombo).

July 23-27: First Test (SSC, Colombo).

July 31-Aug 4: Second Test (Galle).

Aug 8-12: Third Test (RPS, Colombo).

Aug 15: One-day warm-up match (Colombo).

Aug 18: First one-dayer (Dambulla).

Aug 20: Second one-dayer (Dambulla).

Aug 24: Third one-dayer (RPS, Colombo).

Aug 26: Fourth one-dayer (RPS, Colombo).

Aug 29: Fifth one-dayer (RPS, Colombo).

—AFP