India’s second T20I against Sri Lanka has been pushed back by a day after spin-allrounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid-19.

Eight squad members, including players, who were sent into isolation for being Krunal’s close contacts, however, have tested negative. The players in isolation will not be considered for the last two games, while the staff members too will not travel to the venue.

The second match was scheduled to be played on Tuesday and after postponement, it would be played on Wednesday followed by the final game of the series on Thursday. India lead the series 1-0.

“The second T20I between Sri Lanka and India originally scheduled to be played on July 27 has been pushed forward (sic) by a day and will now take place on Wednesday, July 28,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said via a press release.

It is learnt that Krunal complained of a sore throat just hours before the match on Tuesday. A Rapid Antigen Test was conducted, which returned positive. The entire team subsequently underwent RT-PCR tests and the results returned negative.

“Following the Rapid Antigen Tests conducted ahead of the match on Tuesday morning, Team India all-rounder Krunal Pandya was found to be positive. The Medical Teams have identified eight members as close contacts,” said the BCCI release.

“The entire contingent is undergoing RT-PCR tests today to ascertain any further outbreak in the squad,” it added.
Conditions apply

The rescheduling of tomorrow’s game, however, came with a rider that everything from here on needed to go well.

“Will play tomorrow if all OK,” a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) functionary informed this paper via a text message.

The BCCI hasn’t confirmed the period of isolation for Krunal, and the medical team is expected to take a call on this. India have a 20-member squad plus five net bowlers for the series, so replacements are available.

But Krunal’s case might well have a domino effect, with Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav set to join the Indian Test team in England. India is still on the United Kingdom’s Covid red list and quarantine protocols are stricter in that part of the world. Both Shaw and Yadav played the first T20I alongside Krunal on Sunday and shared spaces with the spinner after that.

In this file photo, India’s Krunal Pandya celebrates taking a wicket. (AP Photo)

This is the second time the series/tour has suffered Covid-forced postponements. A virus outbreak in the Sri Lankan camp before the start of the limited-overs series pushed back the ODI leg of the tour to July 18 from its scheduled start on July 13. The Sri Lankan team is said to be unaffected by the latest developments.

Authorities are tight-lipped on how Covid entered the Indian camp. Both teams are operating out of a bio-bubble, with a hotel exclusively assigned to them.

Also, the matches are being played behind closed doors. Professor Arjuna de Silva, who is in charge of SLC’s bio-bubble protocols for international tours, told ESPNcricinfo that how Krunal contracted Covid remained a “mystery”, with “no reports of the bubble being broken”.