Ten days before the first Test, Zimbabwe Cricket named a provisional squad of twenty-five players for the tour.[14] On 15 January 2020, Zimbabwe named their final squad for the tour, which included five players uncapped at Test level.[15] Three of those five cricketers made their debut in the opening day of the first Test of the series,[16] with Brian Mudzinganyama making his Test debut on day four, as a concussion substitute.[17] Mudzinganyama became the first cricketer to make his Test debut as a substitute.[18] Sri Lanka won the match by ten wickets,[19] to take a 1–0 lead in the series.[20] The second Test finished in a draw, therefore Sri Lanka won the series.[21]
Zimbabwe's first three batsmen all scored half-centuries in the first innings, the first time the top three had achieved this for the team in the same innings in Tests.[26]