Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower could face disciplinary action for bio-bubble breach: Report
It appears that Mendis, Perera and Gunathilaka were not the only ones who breached the bubble. Official sources said SLC will investigate reports that Grant Flower also breached the Covid-19 restrictions in England.
Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower could face disciplinary action (pending inquiry) for reportedly breaching the bio-bubble in England, reported news agency AFP.
The former Zimbabwe opener was the first in the Sri Lanka camp to test positive for Covid-19 ahead of the India limited-overs series. Flower tested positive on July 6 after returning from England.
Two other positive cases - one of Sri Lanka's data analyst and then a player in the alternate squad - forced the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and BCCI to postpone the ODI series from July 13 to July 18.
Three Sri Lankan players, including vice-captain Kusal Mendis, were sent home early after they left the team's bio-secure hotel for a night out in Durham ahead of the first one-day international. The three cricketers - Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka were suspended for a year by SLC.
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It now appears that they were not the only ones who breached the bubble. Official sources said SLC will investigate reports that Flower also breached the Covid-19 restrictions in England.
"An inquiry will be held after he (Flower) recovers fully," a board source told AFP. "There are allegations that he also breached the bio-secure bubble."
Media reports said the board was also unhappy with the performance of Flower, a former Zimbabwe Test player who is under contract until the end of the year.
Sri Lanka are eighth in the Test team rankings and ninth in one-day formats and team morale is reportedly low. The players have been at loggerheads with the board over new performance-linked contracts.
The board has brought in local coach Dhammika Sudarshana as a temporary replacement for Flower for three one-day games and three Twenty20 matches against India starting Sunday.
The India matches were delayed by five days to July 18 following positive tests by Flower and a team's data analyst.
(With AFP inputs)