The Indian head coach for the Sri Lankan tour, Rahul Dravid had informed ahead of the second T20I that the players who come in close contact with Krunal Pandya, will not feature in the remaining 2 matches of the 3-match T20I series. Following the Rapid Antigen Tests conducted ahead of the match on Tuesday morning, Krunal Pandya was found to be positive and the medical teams identified eight members as close contacts of the all-rounder. 

Ahead of the second T20I, Rahul Dravid said, “Unfortunately the close contacts of Krunal won’t be playing a part in the series. We have 11 players available and we will play them. There is nothing to feel sorry about. All the 11 are good enough to make the 11 and that’s why they were picked in the squad. Yes, the balance of the side will be a little fragile because we can only pick from the players available.”

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The BCCI in a fresh statement on Thursday stated that all the close contacts tested negative for Covid-19 again on Thursday afternoon. The board further added that the contacts will be in isolation as a safety measure.

The statement read: “After Krunal Pandya was tested positive for COVID-19 on July 27th, all members of the team and support staff were immediately isolated and tested as a safety measure. Following the test on 27th July, a Rapid Antigen test was also conducted today (28th July) at noon and they have all returned negative results. However, to ensure the health and safety of the squad, the 8 close contacts will continue to remain in isolation in the team hotel.”

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Sri Lanka has won the toss and elected to field first in the 2nd T20I. India has named 4 T20I debutants in Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Chetan Sakariya for the match which can see the Shikhar Dhawan-led team an unassailable 2-0 lead.