SL vs IND: BCCI add reserve players to the squad, second T20I to go ahead as scheduled

The second T20I between Sri Lanka and India has been given a green signal and will get underway at the scheduled time today. The match was postponed after all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, eight close contacts with Krunal were identified and were isolated from the squad. The players won’t take any further part in the series. With so many players unavailable, BCCI decided to include five reserve players – Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh, who went to Sri Lanka as net bowlers, into the regular squad.

The players who will not be available for the second and third T20I are - Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Deepak Chahar, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ishan Kishan and Yuzvendra Chahal. Seven of these players were part of the first game thus India will be forced to make a minimum of seven changes in today's game. The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Manish Pandey are likely to get a game.

“The decision to have extra players was a wise move and those players have now come to the team’s rescue,” said a tour official refuting the talk that the tour was in danger of being called off.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw were set to leave for England after the third T20I. However, their departure is likely to be delayed by few days as the duo has been identified as close contact to Krunal Pandya and will have to serve certain days in isolation. The players will most likely won't be available for the first two Tests against England.