Spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya has finally returned to India after completing his mandatory isolation period in Sri Lanka. Krunal tested positive for coronavirus just before India was scheduled to square off against Sri Lanka in the second T20 International of the three-match series.
After the conclusion of the Sri Lanka tour, other Indian players came back to India but Krunal had to stay in the island nation. The cricketer completed the mandatory seven-day isolation period, followed by two negative RT-PCR reports. He touched down Mumbai on August 5, Thursday. The video of Krunal coming out from the airport was shared by a media portal.
Now, the only two players who are present in Sri Lanka are Yuzvendra Chahal and Krishnappa Gowtham. Along with Krunal, both the players had also received positive Covid-19 results. They are expected to undergo two RT-PCR tests on Thursday and can fly back to India after testing negative.
There was a potential breach inthe bio-bubble ofthe Indian camp. After Krunal tested positive, as many as eight other Indian players, who were deemed as his close contacts, were isolated with immediate effect. The players who were isolated include the likes of Hardik Pandya, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Deepak Chahar, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ishan Kishanand Yuzvendra Chahal.
While Chahal and Gowtham tested positive, all the other six players hadnegative results and were allowed to travel back to India. All the nine players including Krunal were ruled out from the remaining of the T20I series.
Krunal’s positive Covid-19 result cost India the T20I series as they were forced to play with an inexperienced and relatively young squad. India had secured a victory in the first T20 International by 38 runs. However, they lost the last two matches by four wickets and seven wickets, respectively, to lose the three-match series by 1-2.
Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here