Amid non-stop protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Guwahati and across the state, security has been beefed up in the city for the T20I between India and Sri Lanka.

The first match of the 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will be played on January 5th, 2020 in Barsapara Cricket Stadium, officially known as Dr Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium and nicknamed Assam Cricket Association Stadium.

Players of both the teams are staying at Radisson Blu Hotel. The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has banned carrying posters, banners and message boards inside the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

Placards showing ‘4’ and ‘6’ too will not be allowed. “No sketch pens or marker pens will be allowed to carry. Only wallets, handbags, mobile phones and vehicle keys will be permitted inside the ground,” Devajit Saikia, secretary, ACA said.

Sufficient number of security personnel have been deployed in and around the hotel too. The city traffic has also been rejigged for the match. The ACA and Guwahati police appealed for cooperation for the smooth conduct of the match.

India vs Sri Lanka T20I Series Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), D Gunathilaka, A Fernando, A Mathews, D Shanaka, K Perera, N Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, I Udana, B Rajapaksa, O Fernando, W Hasaranga, L Kumara, K Mendis, L Sandakan, K Rajitha.

Photo: @smitaranideka