India tour of Sri Lanka: Amid Covid scare, Sri Lankan coaches train team wearing PPE kits; Watch video: PPE kits, masks and gloves have become a norm in the last one and a half years due to the pandemic. But not often one sees outdoor activities in those. But the Covid scare in Sri Lankan camp has forced the Sri Lanka Cricket to come up with this solution with coaches training the Dasun Shanaka-led team in full PPE kits, masks and gloves.
It surfaced soon after Sri Lankan team resumed their practice sessions from Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium. In the video shared on Sri Lankan Cricket, the Lankans group of coaches and support staff were spotted wearing PPE kits during Sri Lanka’s net training session. Sri Lankan first team, including senior players Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Dushmantha Chameera, and Dhananjaya de Silva all returned negative in their latest RT-PCR tests ahead of the limited-overs series against India.
PPE kit donned Sri Lankan coaches were seen training their batsmen ahead of the white-ball series against India that begins with the ODI series on July 18. The mentors even threw deliveries to train their batsman caged in the PPE kit and the mask.
India tour of Sri Lanka: While it looked funny at a glance, it isn’t. The Sri Lanka team returned from England and was forced into quarantine after batting coach Grant Flower and performance analyst tested positive for Covid-19. Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka and the entire squad was forced to isolate. While the SLC was preparing two alternate squads, another cricketer tested positive and the entire squad was shifted from the team hotel which was also being shared by Shikhar Dhawan led Team India.
Hence, the island country’s coaches have gone an extra mile to safeguard themselves after their batting coach Grant Flower and data analyst GT Niroshan tested positive on their return from England tour. Though the two are still under quarantine, the rest of the staff members are taking extra precautions to avoid any probable issues.
India tour of Sri Lanka: A look at the revised timings and new schedule
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced revised timings for the 3-match ODIs and as many T20s against India. The series which had to be postponed by five days due to COVID-19 cases in the Sri Lanka camp will now be played from July 18.
#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/LQSJT5tDmM
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 12, 2021
Now, instead of 13th July, the 1st ODI will be played in Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on July 18 from 3 PM while the T20 matches will start from 8 PM July 25 onwards. All the matches will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network channels and live-streamed on SonyLIV app OTT platform.
| India’s tour of Sri Lanka, 2021 – ODI series: Timing 3 PM | |||
| S.No. | Date | Match | Venue |
| 1 | 18th July | 1st ODI | Colombo |
| 2 | 20th July | 2nd ODI | Colombo |
| 3 | 23rd July | 3rd ODI | Colombo |
| India’s tour of Sri Lanka, 2021 – T20I series: Timing 8 PM | |||
| S.No. | Date | Match | Venue |
| 1 | 25th July | 1st T20I | Colombo |
| 2 | 27th July | 2nd T20I | Colombo |
| 3 | 29th July | 3rd T20I | Colombo |
India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh
India tour of Sri Lanka – Follow all LIVE Updates on the India Tour of Sri Lanka on InsideSport.co
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