India vs SL 2021: After Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and Krishnappa Gowtham also COVID-19 positive

Team Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and spin-bowling allrounder Krishnappa Gowtham have both tested positive for COVID-19 while on tour in Sri Lanka, according to a cricket website. The two were part of the group of eight players who had earlier been identified as immediate contacts of allrounder Krunal Pandya, who had tested positive on July 27.

Chahal and Gowtham, along with Krunal, will have to stay back in Colombo for the time being, while the other six players – Krunal’s brother Hardik, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Deepak Chahar and Ishan Kishan – are expected to leave for India later today. The rest of the Indian travelling contingent will return to India earlier in the day.

ESPNcricinfo website informed that Chahal and Gowtham tested positive on Friday. Incidentally, they had both tested negative along with the other six players on Thursday, the day of India's final match of the tour.

India lost the T20 series 1-2 after several players of the squad had to be isolated owing to Krunal’s infection. “Yes, only Krunal will have to stay back in Sri Lanka for the time being due to the mandatory isolation period of one week,” a senior BCCI official told news agency PTI.

“After one week, if he has two negative RT-PCR reports, he will be allowed to fly back. Currently he is in the fourth day of his isolation. All others are free to depart as they have all tested negative,” he added.

The Indian team on Thursday (July 29) finished the series, which initially was delayed due to multiple COVID-19 cases in the Sri Lankan camp after they returned from their tour of United Kingdom. The ODI series was delayed by five days and then the second T20 International, slated on Tuesday, had to be deferred by a day after Krunal tested positive, having shown symptoms on that day.

(with agency inputs)