Iftekhar Hossain, a Bangladesh U19 cricketer who was attending the national camp at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur, has tested positive for the coronavirus and is been kept in isolation for seven days. According to the protocol which has been framed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the first batch of tests was conducted on August 16 and all the results had come out negative at that time. But during the second batch of tests, Hossain was the only one whose result came out as positive. T he third batch of the Covid-19 tests will be conducted on August 20.
Speaking to the media, Bangladesh Cricket Board development manager MA Kayser said that Hossain will be taken care off by the board. “He will now be in isolation under the BCB`s medical protocol. He is healthy but he is being closely monitored. We will provide him with everything during his isolation and the next course of action will be decided by the BCB`s medical team,” Kayser said.
Bangladesh cricket stalled
The coronavirus pandemic has hit Bangladesh hard, with over one lakh active cases currently. Ever since the pandemic hit in March, the Bangladesh government announced a general holiday that has not yet been lifted. The Dhaka Premier League has been postponed while the home Test series against Australia and New Zealand has also been postponed due to the coronavirus.
However, Bangladesh are all set to tour Sri Lanka for a three-Test series for the first time in six years. The situation is so dire that Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president has proposed an early departure to Sri Lanka. Initially the plan was for the players to leave for Colombo on September 23 or 24, go through the two-week quarantine and then train for the series that begins on October 24.
With the domestic season now stalled and with players slowly coming back into training at the national camp, the situation is not improving in Bangladesh at this point in time.
