IND vs SL 2021: Team India caught in a selection fix as Shikhar Dhawan also enters isolation 

Team India captain Shikhar Dhawan has also been termed a close contact with the positively tested Krunal Pandya. As a result, the opener will not be leading the Men In Blue for the final two T20Is of the series.

Shikhar Dhawan also will not be available for the remaining of the T20i series against Sri Lanka as he's in isolation. (Reported by Sports Tak).

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 28, 2021

Initially, a total of eight players were said to be in close contact with the all-rounder. Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, Ishak Kishan and Krishnappa Gowtham were the players that were deemed to be in contact and entered isolation as a result.

However, the latest reports suggest that even Dhawan was in close contact with Krunal Pandya. While the above-mentioned set of players tested negative for the virus upon testing, they are not eligible to take the field for the remaining matches due to precautionary measures set in place. The players are expected to be tested once again today.

Team India seek leadership and team combination solutions amid Dhawan's absence

The absence of nine players from squad contention leaves India with a scarce pool of players to field a side from. There is a lack of bowlers in the batch of players who are eligible to compete in the matches.

Perfect start to the T20is 💯 Proud of the boys for their all-round efforts 👏 Onto the next one 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/b6PRk55vru

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 25, 2021

The team only have 11 players left among their ranks, which includes the net bowlers. Despite the issues, the contest is expected to go as planned.

Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, Sanju Samson, Rahul Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Chetan Sakariya and Navdeep Saini are the players available for the clash. Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Sai Kishore and Simranjeet Singh are the net bowlers present in the camp.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar being the vice captain is expected to take over the captaincy reigns.With Shaw and Dhawan both being out of the clash, Tte Men In Blue might see a mew left-right pairing at the top of the order. Several players will be in line to make their T20 debut for India tonight.