Sri Lankan players to undergo fitness tests on April

By Bipin Dani

All Sri Lankan players touring Bangladesh next month will undergo proper fitness tests on April 25, it is learnt.

According to sources in Colombo, most of the preliminary squad members, who are in Sri Lanka and not part of the league or English country matches overseas, underwent the pre-testing and medical check-ups on Tuesday.

This will be Chris Silverwood's first assignment after taking over as Sri Lanka's head coach.

The final squad will leave on May 8, and will not be required to undergo any hotel room quarantine, a top BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) official said.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror an official confirmed, "The Covid pandemic is easing out and therefore there will be no quarantine restrictions".

"They (the players and their support staff) will undergo PCR tests on arrival and if cleared, they can start training from the very next day", the source added.

The BCB's medical team has given this protocol to the management, it is learnt.

Team head coach Silverwood and the new assistant coach Naveed Nawaz have already arrived in Sri Lanka from England and Australia respectively. The squad is unlikely to have a separate specialist batting coach but the responsibilities will lie with the assistant coach.

Selectors have picked the preliminary squad of 23 players. They are not to be put in a hotel but will come for training from their homes to R. Premadasa Stadium from Wednesday.

SLC's High Performance Centre has also sent a list of 12 support staff members for executive committee's approval.

The 23-player training squad may be reduced to 18 and 12 support staff may be sent to Bangladesh.