India vs Sri Lanka 2021: Rahul Dravid's request of practice games for his troops gets denied due to COVID-19 protocols

Head coach on Sri Lanka tour, Rahul Dravid had earlier stated that he is keen to get started with practice matches for the tour which comprises six limited-overs matches. But it seems his wish will not get fulfilled due to COVID-19 protocols in place.

India have named a second-string squad for the series sans their first-choice players who are away on England tour. The 20-member personal are currently in Mumbai and are undergoing strict quarantine. The players will also have to undergo three days of quarantine on arrival in Sri Lanka.

With all the arrangements in place, Dravid was also hoping to get some game time with practice matches but instead, he will have to do with only intra-squad games to prepare for the white-ball series.

“The Indians wanted to play some warm-up games against the A team or a team that could be arranged, but the COVID-19 protocols made that a little difficult and that is when a request went to BCCI to play intra-squad games. So, the Indian team will now play one T20 game and two one-day games to prepare for the limited-overs series,” a source said, as reported by News 18.

Sri Lanka tour a golden chance for many young Indian players

As with the players on tour to England, the ones selected for the Sri Lanka tour too will also be not able to meet their teammates for seven days due to COVID restrictions. “All the rules will be same like we followed in England. The outstation players came by charter flight and some flew business class of commercial airline,” the source added.

Shikhar Dhawan is the captain of the team and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is his deputy. Apart from few experienced players, the selectors have also picked six uncapped players in the squad. The fringe players will look to make of this golden opportunity during the tour.

A string of good performances against a strong Sri Lankan team in their backyard will help these players break through in the main team. With the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place on October in India, a few fringe players might get a look in based on their showings on the Lankan tour.