The India tour of Sri Lanka was hit with COVID-19 earlier this week as all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for the infection. The 30-year-old was part of the playing XI in the opening T20I on Sunday (July 25) and looked set to play the 2nd T20I on Tuesday (July 27).
He complained of sore throat and tested positive for the infection on the match day. As a result of his COVID-19 positive test, his 8 close contacts were also isolated. Hardik, Krunal’s brother, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Krishnappa Gowtham, Yuzvendra Chahal and Manish Pandey came in Krunal’s contact and were ruled out of the remainder of the fixtures.
While the source of Krunal’s COVID-19 infection is yet to come out, a report in The Indian Express has suggested that his 8 contacts had dined with the all-rounder before his test returned positive. The report adds they were told that they would be available for selection but the BCCI decided against it.
The decision seemingly prevented the spread of COVID-19 across both camps as Yuzvendra Chahal and Krishnappa Gowtham tested positive for the infection today (July 30). Like Krunal, they will also stay in Sri Lanka till they serve the isolation period and recover from COVID-19.
The Shikhar Dhawan-led side struggled in the absence of its first-choice players and lost the 2nd and 3rd T20Is, which saw Sri Lanka registered their first-ever T20 series victory over the Men in Blue.
