[4] In September 2018, Sri Lanka Cricket named Dinesh Chandimal as the captain of the ODI team, replacing Angelo Mathews.

[8] Despite all five ODIs being affected by rain, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) defended the decision to play the series during Sri Lanka's monsoon season, saying that they had "very little wriggle room" with regards to the dates.

[10] In October 2018, Sri Lankan bowler Rangana Herath announced that he would retire from international cricket following the first Test in Galle.

[23] Prior to the third ODI, Liam Dawson was ruled out of the series with a side strain, and replaced by Joe Denly.

[26] Jonny Bairstow suffered an injury in training ahead of the fourth ODI and was ruled out of the remaining limited-over matches.

[33] Ahead of the Test series, Lahiru Kumara was removed from Sri Lanka's squad for disciplinary reasons, and was replaced by Dushmantha Chameera.