India to tour Sri Lanka, England, but not the first time a country will field two different teams simultaneously

The coronavirus pandemic continues to alter the global cricketing calendar. However, fans from India, where cricket is often hailed as a religion, have plenty to watch out for as two different national sides will take the field in two different parts of the world. While a Virat Kohli-led Test side, which features a majority of the team’s renowned faces, will take on New Zealand (for the WTC final) and England (for a five-match series), a second-string side, coached by Rahul Dravid, will take on Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series. Although rare, in the past too, there have been instances where a country has fielded two different teams at the same time. Here, we take a look at such instances: England tours West Indies, New Zealand (1930) The first instance where a team played two different matches simultaneously happened in January 1930, when England took on New Zealand and West Indies. Both of these were four-match Test series. Arthur Gillian, the then England captain, opted out of both tours. His older brother, Harold, took over the leadership of the side for the New Zealand tour. In the Caribbean, Freddie Calthorpe made his debut as the captain. While one English side thrashed Test debutants and hosts New Zealand (by eight wickets) in the first Test, the other had a tough time against Windies and had to settle for a draw. The West Indies tour ended with a 1-1 scoreline, while England won the other series by a 1-0 scoreline, with the final three Tests ending in a draw. India vs Pakistan in Canada, India in the Commonwealth Games (1998) Previously too, India have been involved in two series simultaneously. In September 1998, one side led by Mohammad Azharuddin played a five-match series against Pakistan in Canada. Pakistan had won that series 4-1. Meanwhile, another Indian team, led by Ajay Jadeja, took part in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. The team lost to Australia by 146 runs in a Group B clash, failing to reach the semi-finals. Australia vs Sri Lanka, India A (2017)  In 19 February 2017, two teams from Australia were simultaneously competing against Sri Lanka and India A. Aaron Finch led a T20I side against Sri Lanka, while Steve Smith captained a Test side in a warm up game against India A. Sri Lanka won the first T20I of the three-match series in Melbourne by five wickets. They also won the series 2-1. Elsewhere, the Smith-led side featured a number of prominent faces such as David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and their warm-up tour game against India A ended in a draw. Australia vs South Africa, New Zealand  Australia were also slated to send two different teams for the three-match Test series against South Africa and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in February-March 2021. The five-match T20I series, which New Zealand won 3-2, went on as scheduled but the South Africa tour was officially postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.