Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has acknowledged the positive role of Rahul Dravid in the recent white-ball home series against India. Sri Lanka Cricket said that tour could’ve been discontinued, but for Rahul Dravid, who, as per the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, was responsible for ensuring the completion of the six-match series which resulted in a windfall of sorts for the Lanka board.
Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva Said If Rahul Dravid Wanted, He Could’ve Taken Team Back After Krunal Pandya Tested Covid-19 Positive
Sri Lanka Cricket had incurred huge losses during the pandemic and, several of their planned series were cancelled or postponed. Also, the board was at the loggerheads with the players owing to a contract dispute.
“If he wanted, he could have easily taken the team back to India,” Mohan de Silva, the secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket, told Cricbuzz explaining the role of various factors that made sure the tour went ahead despite the covid-19 outbreak.
“The most encouraging aspect of the whole Pandya episode was the role of the support staff of the Indian team, led by Rahul. If he wanted, he could have easily taken the team back to India. He was very accommodating and understood the situation. He appreciated the efforts we were taking and realised that we were doing our best to protect the boys from virus dangers with all bio-secure guidelines,” the SLC official explained.
After the fourth game of the six-match series(3 ODIs and 1 T20I), Krunal Pandya was found to be Covid positive leading to the isolation of eight other players who were deemed close contacts. That left the Indian squad with exactly 11 available players to field in the remaining fixtures.
“We have 11 players available and we will play them. There is nothing to feel sorry about. All the 11 are good enough to make the XI and that’s why they were picked in the squad. I feel it is exciting to see them perform. Yes, the balance of the side will be a little fragile because we can only pick from the players available,” Dravid had said just before the start of the 2nd T20I on July 28.
India went on to lose the T20I series by a margin of 2-1 but Rahul Dravid saw the importance of completing the task on hand than offering excuses. With all the planned six matches going ahead, the SLC reaped dividends of over 280 crore Sri Lankan rupees.
“It was a very, very valuable tour for us. We were looking forward to it for a long time. We were very grateful to BCCI top brass – Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly – for acceding to our request to play three additional T20Is. Originally the tour was for only three ODIs. It enhanced the commercial value of the whole tour. We ended up earning almost $ 14.5 million. It is a huge boost to our finances,” the Sri Lanka Cricket secretary disclosed.
There were some doubts cast about the tour to be continued or not after Krunal Pandya tested COVID positive before the second T20I. At that point in time, India had completed the three-match ODI series and one of the three T20Is.
Mohan de Silva: BCCI, Indian High Commission, And Team Management Were Concerned And Sought Regular Updates After Krunal Pandya’s Episode
Mohan De Silva also stressed the role of the governments of the two countries in ensuring the series did not end abruptly. The Indian and Sri Lankan boards thought of calling off the tour, but BCCI’s late intervention, helped the remaining two T20Is to be conducted as per plan. Had India pulled out of the series midway, then Sri Lanka Cricket would have suffered huge losses.
“There were concerns from many quarters – the BCCI, the Indian High Commission and the team management. We were in regular touch with all of them. In the Indian High Commission in Colombo, they were very concerned; sought regular updates.”
“The officers were in constant touch with us, particularly after the Krunal episode. They wanted the details of arrangements made. The relations were cooperative and cordial and they went a long way in the continuation of the tour,” the official pointed out.
“Usually without their (governments) approval, especially during the pandemic times, the tour would not have been possible. The governments assess the situations before permitting a team to fly abroad and the same can be said of conducting one as well. The role of the governments cannot be overemphasized. By the way, we have a very young and enthusiastic Sports Minister (Namal Rajapaksa),” he signed off.
Mohan de Silva said Sri Lanka Cricket did try to trace how Krunal Pandya got infected.
“We are not sure still but it could have been because the hotel staff who served Grant Flower (who had returned positive test before the series) may have come in contact with Pandya too,” he felt.
After Krunal Pandya, two other Indian players – Yuzvendra Chahal and Krishnappa Gowtham – too had tested positive and had to be separated from the Indian contingent.
The six-match series got postpone initially by three days because of the Covid cases in the Sri Lanka camp and the schedule was again disrupted following the Krunal Pandya incident. Eventually, all six matches were played with India and Sri Lanka winning the ODI and T20I series respectively.