Two more Indian cricketers test Covid-19 positive in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Two more Indian players have contracted coronavirus, with the three infected players remaining in Sri Lanka as the rest of the squad started leaving, officials said on Friday.

All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham and bowler Yuzvendra Chahal joined Krunal Pandya in isolation after all three were found to have Covid-19, a Sri Lanka Cricket official said.

“The three of them will remain in Sri Lanka until they test negative for the virus,” the official told AFP.

Other members of the Indian team started leaving on Thursday.

The pandemic has cast a dark shadow over the whole series of three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games which ended Thursday.

The games were delayed for five days after Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower and a backup staff member tested positive, forcing the Sri Lankan players to extend their quarantine. The second T20 international on Tuesday was postponed for a day after Pandya tested positive.

Eight immediate contacts were isolated, with Gowtham and Chahal later confirmed as having contracted the virus.

Meanwhile, three Sri Lankan players are facing long bans—and were immediately excluded from the India series—after breaking their secure bio-bubble hotel during an England tour last month.

The island nation won the three-match T20 series 2-1 against a depleted Indian side.

India arrived in Sri Lanka on June 28 and have been in a strict bio-bubble in a luxury Colombo hotel since then.