Sreesanth tests positive for H1N1 before second India-SL T20 tie
With India ready to battle it out for the second Twenty20 game against compatriots Sri Lanka in Mohali, there was bad news for the Men in Blue as their teammate Sreesanth was declared to be suffering from swine flu and will not play the Saturday’s match.
Sreesanth, who was admitted to the Fortis Hospital, Mohali late on Thursday night with some clear-cut symptoms of H1N1 tested positive for the disease, the hospital authorities said in a statement here this evening.
Sreeshanth was admitted to the hospital on Thursday in the night around 11.30pm and was seen by the hospital physician Dr Vikas Bhutani prior to admission. Since he had persistent symptoms of cough, fever and bodyache, his throat swab was sent for H1N1 testing and the report, which came this evening, is positive, Walia said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Sangakkara admitted his team’s turnaround in fortunes to the self-belief which they had. “We engaged in a lot of games like poker, card games, et cetera to keep our togetherness going after the Test series. As a captain, I know these guys inside out and their skills. So keeping them motivated was not a big task for me. The team members also knew the importance of making a strong comeback after the Test defeats,” Sanga said.
Dhoni on the other hand rued the inconsistency his team has had in the shortest format of the game. “We have done well in Tests and one-dayers but our performance in Twenty20s has not been that good. You just play one game before a one-day series and that has not helped. It was disappointing the way we performed in the last Twenty20 World Cup. We have to improve,” Dhoni said.
While it will be interesting to see how the influx of coach cum consultant Mike Young into the squad as the Men in Blue will want to improve by leaps and bounds if one has to make a match of it on Saturday evening.
