By BIPIN DANI

Keerthi Ranasuriya, one of the main scoreboard scorers of the ongoing Sri Lanka - India series, had tested Covid-19 positive a few hours before the second ODI, and was sent into immediate quarantine today, it is learnt. 

According to the highly placed sources in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Ranasuriya, who was officiated as a DLS scorer in the first ODI on Sunday, was designated to be the main scoreboard scorer for the second game on Tuesday. However, hours before the match on Tuesday, he failed the antigen test at the entrance of the R. Premadasa Stadium and had to be withdrawn from the scorers team. 

He is likely to have come in contact with the other fellow scorers, and therefore the whole team was sent home immediately. A team of new scorers was subsequently invited, and the match kicked off on time, avoiding a potential delay.  

The question as to why the scorers were not initially put in a bio-bubble, similar to groundsmen, scoreboard helping staff, match-officials (umpires and referee) and players, remains unanswered. 

The new team of scorers consists of Chinthika Munasinghe, Janaka Perera, Ravindra Fernando (all main scoreboard), S. Ravi and Chamara Perera (Media). The team is likely to have joined the bio-bubble yesterday and will also officiate in the three T-20Is.