Sri Lanka players to come out of isolation after testing negative for COVID-19 in latest round of RT-PCR Tests - Reports
The entire Sri Lankan camp has reportedly received negative results in the latest round of RT-PCR tests. As a result, they are expected to exit their isolation today and begin training soon for the upcoming ODI series against India. Players in the Sri Lanka squad for the series are likely to enter the bio bubble on Monday.
But the coaching staff, which toured England, will continue to remain in quarantine for a couple more days. This is primarily due to their proximity with England coach Grant Flower and a team analyst, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
The latest development will come as a huge sigh of relief for both cricket fans and the Sri Lankan cricket board after a rough week. Due to three positive cases in the Sri Lankan team support staff group, the series against India was pushed back by five days to allow the Sri Lankan cricketers to have a few more days in quarantine.
There was a cloud of uncertainty until today, but the latest negative RT-PCR reports will come as a welcome sign. They have seemingly cleared the path for the series to go ahead according to the new schedule.
India will begin their Sri Lankan tour with the first ODI on July 18th
The young Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan will face the hosts in a six-match limited overs series (three ODIs and three T20Is) on the current tour. The famous R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be the venue for all six matches across both formats. Dasun Shanaka is set to take over the reins from Kusal Perera and lead the Sri Lankan team against India. All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva will serve as his deputy.
The schedule for the ODI and T20I series is as follows:
1st ODI - July 18 (Sunday) | Start time - 2:30 PM (IST)
2nd ODI - July 20 (Tuesday) | Start time - 2:30 PM (IST)
3rd ODI - July 23 (Friday) | Start time - 2:30 PM (IST)
1st T20I - July 25 (Sunday) | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)
2nd T20I - July 27 (Tuesday) | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)
3rd T20I - July 29 (Thursday) | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)