COVID positive case in Sri Lanka likely to affect travel plans of Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav for England

The T20I series between Sri Lanka and India has been abruptly halted for now with the all-rounder Krunal Pandya testing positive for COVID-19. The second T20I, set to be played on Tuesday, has been pushed back by a day. The series will only resume now if the visiting contingent returns negative results which are expected by Tuesday (July 27) evening.

Meanwhile, the developments in Sri Lanka are also likely to affect the travel plans of Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav who have been named as replacements for the upcoming Test series against England. Both the players are currently in Sri Lanka and it is still not known if they are among the eight close contacts of Krunal Pandya identified by the medical staff.

Along with the whole squad, Shaw and Surya are also in isolation and for now, they will at least require to return COVID negative. It was earlier speculated that they will reach England after the ongoing T20I series in Sri Lanka and it remains to be seen if their arrival in England gets delayed further.

Period of isolation for Krunal and 8 close contacts not confirmed

It has been understood that the isolation period of Krunal Pandya and eight other close contacts is not confirmed yet and it will depend on the COVID strain in question. Moreover, there are also no positive cases as of now in the Sri Lankan camp who will be tested on Wednesday morning.

The Indian team is currently staying in Taj Samudra whose staff are also the part of the bubble. Professor Arjuna de Silva who is looking after SLC’s bubble protocols also confirmed to ESPNCricinfo that no one from the hotel staff has tested positive and also stated that it is a mystery how Krunal contracted the virus.

Meanwhile, BCCI confirmed in a statement that the remaining two T20Is will now be played back to back on July 28 and 29 depending on the results of the Indian contingent on Tuesday evening.