Seam bowler Binura Fernando and seam-bowling allrounder Chamika Karunaratne have tested positive for Covid-19 after having begun training as part of a 22-member limited-overs squad ahead of next month's tour of the West Indies.
Both players have since been removed from the training group and asked to quarantine. *The remainder of the squad have also now been asked to isolate, because the players who returned positive results were involved in an all-in fitness test. The support staff involved have been instructed to isolate as well.
According to an SLC release, the squad began training on January 18, and underwent a PCR Test on January 20, the results of which showed Fernando and Karunaratne to be positive for the virus. The players will have another PCR Test on January 26, following several days of isolation. If everyone (apart from the players who have tested positive) returns a negative PCR Test, the squad will return to training in three isolated groups.
Sri Lanka will travel to the West Indies towards the end of February for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.
This is the first time players attached to Sri Lanka squads have tested positive for Covid-19. In 2020, SLC had run residential training camps through the middle of the year, and had also staged the Lanka Premier League without any major Covid-19 scares (two players had tested positive on arrival, but were quarantined immediately).
These two players testing positive for Covid-19 does not have any effect on the biosecure bubble for the ongoing Test series involving England.
*Aspects of this story have changed since new information has come to light.