Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of Sri Lanka series

Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput will miss at least the first two games of Zimbabwe's series against Sri Lanka after testing positive for Covid-19. Rajput, 60, is understood to be asymptomatic, though he was placed under observation at a hospital briefly, before being taken to a hotel for isolation.

Rajput, who has been Zimbabwe head coach since 2018, did not travel with the squad, instead linking up with the team in Sri Lanka. The rest of the squad, which arrived from Zimbabwe, all tested negative.

Zimbabwe's squad left for Sri Lanka on Saturday to play three ODIs and were tested upon arrival. Rajput's positive test will see him isolated for a minimum of ten days.

"We are doing some routine tests and he will be able to go back to a hotel," Arjuna de Silva, a Sri Lankan sports doctor, told AFP. "There will be a 10-day quarantine period which means he will miss the first two matches." The ODIs are scheduled for January 16, 18 and 21.

Rajput's isn't the only Covid-related absence on this tour. Sri Lankan batter Avishka Fernando did not join the home side's team bubble after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. However, with three previously banned Sri Lankan players - Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwellaand Danushka Gunathilaka - seeing their bans overturned, Sri Lanka have the personnel to make up for that absence. They are yet to announce their squad for the series.

All three games are day-night contests and will be played at the Pallekelle Stadium in Kandy.