Sri Lanka’s batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for COVID-19 just three days after the contingent returned from a tour of England. The development is significant as Sri Lanka will host a limited number of Indians from July 13.
The Sri Lankan contingent arrived in Sri Lanka from the UK on Monday and was immediately isolated in a hotel room. The news of the positive flower test comes just days after seven members of the UK ODI contingent returned a positive COVID test for the Pakistan series.
Forcing the entire ODI team to isolate themselves, England enters a draw against Pakistan with captain Ben Stokes from Thursday.
Given that Flower is the only member of the Sri Lankan contingent to test positive, the record against India could continue if more players fail to test positive, ESPNCricinfo reports.
Grant Flower reported to have had no close contact with other members of the Sri Lankan cadre in recent days. A member of the Sri Lankan medical staff quoted by ESPNcricinfo:
“We need to understand how Tsveto got infected and what variants of the virus got infected.”
Under Sri Lanka’s original schedule, isolation players must enter the bio-bubble before the draw in India on Friday.
However, after a positive COVID-19 tests on a Grant flower, things can change. If the Sri Lanka batting coach’s COVID infection turns into a Delta variant, problems could arise in the team’s camp.
Batting Coach of the Sri Lanka National Team Grant Flower has tested positive for Covid 19.
He was found to be positive during a PCR test carried out on him today when Flower showed mild symptoms of the disease.https://t.co/2CiQhLGlXE
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 8, 2021
Hard times for cricket in Sri Lanka
The news for his cotton coach testing positive for COVID is the latest on Sri Lanka’s growing list of cricket problems. They lost 0-3 in T20I in England and also lost the ODI series 0-2, with the last game in Bristol abandoned due to rain.
Three Sri Lankan players, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunatilaka, and Niroshan Dikuela, back home from England to break the team’s bio-bubble. All three walking around Durham before the first ODI.
Sri Lankan players have caught up in confusing opposition to the national cricket board over the past month over new contracts offering performance-based incentives.
On Wednesday, SLC reported that 29 of the 30 players on its roster for the series in India have signed their contracts, while veteran hitter Angelo Matthews is retiring for personal reasons.
