The Sri Lankan Cricket Team suffered a humiliating loss in the recently concluded limited-overs series against England. The Islanders are going through tough times in the last few months. Earlier, three Sri Lankan players were sent home for breaking the bio-bubble protocols. Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, and Danushka Gunathilaka were roaming outside in a public space in Durham.

After the limited-overs series ended, the Sri Lanka players learned that seven England members, including support staff, tested positive for COVID-19 after the last one-day international in Bristol.

The Sri Lankan team witnessed another distressful experience when their flight was forced to make an emergency landing in India. The Sri Lankan Airlines flight which was carrying the players from London to Colombo was short on fuel and was diverted to India. The flight made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

“We had to divert to India because we lost fuel,” said Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur to talkSPORT.

“When I landed in India, I switched my phone on and I had a couple of messages from Wayne Bentley [England’s operations manager] who updated on the situation and that was a really nerve-wracking time for all of us,” he added.

Mickey Arthur also pointed out some positive signs for the Sri Lankan team from their tour of England.

“I thought Kusal Janith led the team very, very well in very trying times and I thought our quick bowling attack was fairly good which was great. We know we’ve got the spinners but to see some of our quicks come through was really, really exciting.”

Sri Lanka vs India, 2021

The Sri Lankan team will head straight into a bio-bubble ahead of their limited-overs series against India. The teams will play three one-day internationals and as many T20 internationals at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

“The Sri Lankan team will reach Colombo and enter another bubble after one round of RT PCR test. Even after completion of tour on Sunday, the team had an RT PCR test in UK before boarding the flight,” a Sri Lanka Cricket official said to PTI.

“Since the India series is starting in a week no one is going home. It’s bubble to bubble transfer. However if anyone tests positive, usual protocol of testing and isolation would follow,” he added.

 

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