India squad for Sri Lanka to undergo fortnight-long quarantine

Shikhar Dhawan will captain India on the tour, while pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the vice-captain of the 20-member squad. Five net bowlers have also been picked.

Mumbai: The India squad for the six-match white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July will undergo a fortnight-long quarantine in Mumbai, where they will be tested regularly before departing for Colombo on June 28.

Shikhar Dhawan will captain India on the tour, while pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the vice-captain of the 20-member squad. Five net bowlers have also been picked.

The all-India senior selection committee of the Indian cricket board had picked the squad for three ODIs and three T20I series, to be played between July 13 and 25, on June 10.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the squad has been asked to take Covid-19 tests before they reach the team hotel in Mumbai, where they will undergo regular testing during their fortnight-long stay.

The head coach for the tour, Rahul Dravid, will also travel to Mumbai and be in quarantine till the departure of the squad.

The squad will reach Colombo on June 28 where it will undergo another three days of mandatory quarantine in their team hotel before being allowed to start training in a "controlled fashion as per the guidelines laid out by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)".

The SLC had, on Friday, stated in a press release that the Dhawan-led squad would train in smaller groups between July 2 and 4.

"Between July 6 and 12, the entire squad will be free to train before the ODI series, which begins from July 13."

All the matches will be played under floodlights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

IANS