The second T20I between hosts Sri Lanka and India, due to be played on Tuesday (July 27), has been postponed by a day after India allrounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the game.
Following the Rapid Antigen tests conducted on the game day, Pandya returned a positive result with eight other team members identified as close contacts, according to a BCCI release.
Consequently, the entire Indian contingent is undergoing RT-PCR tests on Tuesday to ascertain any further outbreak in the squad. The two remaining games in the series will now be played back to back on Wednesday and Thursday, provided the players return negative in the RT-PCR tests.
India’s Test contingent in the UK too had COVID setbacks, with wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant linking up with the squad late in Durham after contracting the virus and isolating at an acquaintance’s place in London. Bowling coach Bharat Arun, Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Eswaran too were forced into 10-days isolation after being deemed close contacts of training assistant Dayananda Garani, who had tested positive.
Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw, who are currently in Sri Lanka, were set to fly to England to join the Test squad after the limited-overs series. With Tuesday’s developments within the Indian squad in Sri Lanka, it remains to be seen if they continue as per earlier plans.
