India vs Sri Lanka to start on July 18; hosts face further setback as player tests positive in alternate squad

The India-Sri Lanka ODI series to start on July 18 due to COVID-19 outbreak in home team camp, BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed on Saturday.

While the tentative date that was originally being discussed was July 17, but Shah confirmed that it will start from July 18.

"India-Sri Lanka ODI series to start on July 18 due to COVID-19 outbreak in home team camp," Shah told PTI.

The three ODI matches will now be held on July 18, 20 and 23 at the Premadasa Stadium followed by the T20 Internationals, starting on July 25.

The development comes amid a Sri Lankan player in one of the two bio-bubbles has tested positive for COVID-19 as the virus outbreak continued to rock the hosts.

The group of players are training separately even as the virus outbreak forced a postponement of the series by four days after the home team's batting coach Grant Flower and data analyst G T Niroshan have contracted the virus.

'Newswire.lk' quoted Sri Lankan sources as saying that batsman Sandun Weerakkodi has tested positive for COVID.

According to the report in the website, Weerakkodi was with the 15 senior cricketers who were training here while staying at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.

The report further stated that Weerakkodi, along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa and several other cricketers, were sent to Dambulla on Friday night to play practice matches ahead of the India series.

The squad staying at Cinnamon Grand also includes Asela Guneratne, Angelo Perera and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and all of them will now have to undergo quarantine.

There is another group of 26 cricketers putting up in a separate bubble in Dambulla, and SLC said that they are all fine.

Sri Lanka's batting coach Grant Flower and data analyst G T Niroshan have tested positive for the dreaded virus on return from the United Kingdom, which has forced Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to extend the hard quarantine period from the stipulated three days.

As per the original schedule, the series was to start with the ODI leg on July 13, followed by matches on July 16 and July 18.

The T20I games were scheduled for July 21, July 23 and July 25.

The second-string Indian team, being led by Shikhar Dhawan with Rahul Dravid as chief coach, has completed its hard quarantine and has been training in Colombo.

The SLC source informed that all the Sri Lankan players who came back from UK have tested negative.

"Once the contingent returned from the UK, Grant tested positive on arrival in RT PCR on the first day. All other players were then in their respective room (hard) quarantine. We removed Grant immediately in separate isolation zone. He is asymptomatic," the source added.

"Yesterday we tested the others once again and today G T Niroshan's report came positive and he was also isolated. Since we didn't receive any other positive reports as of now, it means that the players who returned from UK have tested negative in their second RT PCR test."

The series is now being pushed back by four days despite the SLC keeping two groups of players in separate bio-bubbles.

"Apart from the UK-returned batch, we have created two more bio-bubbles in Colombo. In one bubble there are 13 players and in another there are 26. So, 39 players are available to pick a squad from. But BCCI would like to play the first team for obvious reasons," the SLC source said.

Since the Sri Lanka white-ball team doesn't have any commitments after this, the rescheduling wasn't a big problem.

With all the games at the Premadasa Stadium, the dates can be kept flexible as no travelling is involved.

The Indian team is staying at its preferred location for the last three decades -- Taj Samudra.

While Niroshan's conformation was given on Friday, Sri Lanka's batting coach Flower tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, 48 hours after the squad's arrival from England.

All the other players who are quarantining have also been tested.

Before testing negative, Sri Lanka's squad had faced an anxious wait for the results of their RT-PCR tests on returning home, following a COVID-19 outbreak in the England squad after the final match of their tour in Bristol on Sunday.

The Lankans have been in a bit of turmoil even otherwise with a dispute over contracts and an ongoing inquiry into bio-bubble breach by three players during the England tour adding to their woes.

Meanwhile, the second edition of the Lanka Premier League has been postponed to November-December due to the unavailability of foreign players, the country's cricket board said on Friday.

The T20 league was scheduled to begin from July 29 but has been postponed to a November 19-December 12 schedule.

"The Governing Council of the Lanka Premier League is of the view that rescheduling the tournament will enable more players from leading cricket-playing nations to take part in the league," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

"The Council made this decision after assessing that at least one similar premier league and several international tours will be played among the cricketing nations during August 2021, during the period, which the LPL 2nd edition was expected to be played."

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, South Africa white-ball captain Temba Bavuma, West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran and No.1-ranked T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi were some of the players which had signed up for the event as per a list announced by SLC early this month The decision comes in the backdrop of the long-standing row between the Sri Lankan players and the country's cricket board (SLC) over national contracts which ended on Wednesday after 29 out of the 30 players signed up for the India series.

According to a report on 'Cricbuzz', the LPL is also "without three of the five franchises that competed in the inaugural season last year."

"SLC and IPG have terminated the contracts of three teams -- Colombo Kings and Dambulla Viiking on June 26 and Jaffna Stallions -- and the approval for the new managements has not yet been received," it said.

The Innovative Production Group (IPG), the LPL Event Rights Holder, however, extended their support to the decision of the SLC.

"IPG supports SLC's decision to postpone the second edition of LPL.

The success of the League is of paramount importance," said Anil Mohan, Founder, and CEO of Innovative Production Group FZE, the official promoters of the LPL.

"We thank the SLC, Sri Lankan Government, players, franchisees, and sponsors for their support."

(With PTI Inputs)