Ahead of Bangladesh's tour of Sri Lanka, the cricketers were originally supposed to undergo three rounds of Covid-19 screening. But the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) later decided to have the cricketers tested four times to ensure safety. As per the decision, samples of 17 cricketers and seven supporting staff were collected on September 7. The results came out the next day which suggested that a cricketer and a supporting staff tested positive for Covid-19.
Right-handed opening batsman Saif Hassan is the cricketer to test positive for Covid-19. Nick Lee, the trainer working with the team, also tested positive. A media release from the BCB confirmed the news.
The release read, "The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirms that one cricketer and an official have tested positive for COVID-19. Test samples were collected on Monday (07 September) from 24 individuals including 17 players in Dhaka."
It also read, "As they had no visible symptoms leading up to the sample collection, the BCB's Medical Team has advised the player Saif Hassan and BCB's Head of Physical Performance Nicholas Lee to go into self-isolation immediately in accordance with the COVID-19 management protocol until they undergo another test. It may be noted that Lee had earlier reported positive on 14 August in Dubai, UAE and negative on 23 August after 10 days in isolation. He also completed a 14-day self-quarantine on arrival in Dhaka prior to yesterday's test. BCB's Sports Physician Dr Debashis Chowdhury said: "Our consultant for COVID-19 is reviewing Lee's case to determine whether it is a new or previous infection before advising on the management plan."
The cricketers whose results have turned out to be negative can resume individual training from Wednesday.
The national team and the High Performance (HP) team are set to be announced within a couple of days.
Before flying to Sri Lanka, the cricketers will start practising as a team from September 21. Before that, they will undergo another three rounds of Covid-19 screening. Those who test negative will stay at a hotel from September 20.
Bangladesh are supposed to reach Sri Lanka at the end of September. According to chairman of cricket operations Akram Khan, first two of the three Tests will take place in Kandy and the final one in Colombo.
Previously, some of the supporting staff who assisted in individual training sessions showed symptoms of Covid-19. Yakub Ali Chowdhury, one of the trainers, tested positive for Covid-19. Keeping that in mind, the BCB called off individual training sessions for the time being. Cricketers are set to resume individual training on Wednesday.
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