'SLC kept two groups of players in bio-bubbles'

Colombo: Wary of the threat posed by COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has kept two groups of players in bio-bubbles — one in Colombo, and one in Dambulla — as part of its contingency plans ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against India.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, players from among these two groups could potentially feature against the second-string India squad in the limited-overs series, whose ODI leg is scheduled to start on July 13.

Sri Lankan team's data analyst G T Niroshan tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the limited overs series against India, the country's cricket board said on Friday, a day after its batting coach Grant Flower contracted the virus.

Niroshan is currently being treated as per the medical protocols.

"The Data Analyst of the Sri Lanka National Team, G. T. Niroshan, has tested positive for Covid 19," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.

"He was found to be positive, following a PCR Test carried out among the National Players, Coaches, and Support Staff yesterday, following the identification of Grant Flower as Covid Positive.

"Niroshan is now undergoing due medical protocols."

On Thursday, Sri Lanka's batting coach Flower tested positive for COVID-19, 48 hours after the squad's arrival from England and less than a week before the home series against India.

According to the report, the Sri Lankan team doctors are worried that both support staff have contracted the Delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious as well as dangerous.

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

The Sri Lanka team was expected to come out of isolation and enter the team's bio-bubble on Friday, but will now be forced to spend at least two more days in isolation, and undergo another

RT-PCR test. The results of those tests could determine whether the main squad can play the series against India.

Sri Lanka's squad had faced an anxious wait for the results of their 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.

Flower had been isolated from the rest of the squad which is undergoing hard quarantine on arrival.

Flower is a former Zimbabwe batsman and was with the team in England where it lost both the T20 International and ODI series.

Already, three Sri Lankan players are facing an inquiry for breaching the COVID-19 protocols in UK during the tour.