BAN v SL 2021: Bangladesh to increase bio-bubble vigilance after COVID-19 scare

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan has promised to increase the bio-bubble vigilance after a COVID-19 scare that threatened the ongoing Bangladesh-Sri Lanka series.

Clouds of uncertainty hovered over the series after Sri Lankan players Isuru Udana and Shiran Fernando, bowling coach Chaminda Vaas and two of Bangladesh’s logistical staff tested positive for coronavirus.

However, BCB remains confident of the series going ahead as per the schedule. The first ODI went ahead after players other than Fernando tested negative following a test on Saturday.

“It can happen at times (someone getting positive), but there is a protocol in place… what we need to do and how many times we need to do the test to make sure that he is negative,” Nazmul was quoted in a report from Cricbuzz.

“We are following the protocol, and we feel nothing serious happened that we need to panic. But definitely, we will increase our vigilance. He (Fernando) recovered from COVID very recently, the PCR may have detected the dead RNA from the virus, many individuals have it on them up to 28 days.”

Echoing the sentiments of their Bangladesh counterparts, Sri Lanka’s team manager Manuja Kariyapperuma expressed his contentment with the arrangements made by BCB. The report quoted him as saying:

“Yes, we had two players, and one support staff member (that) tested positive, but two of them were declared negative after the second test, so these things happen. There is a thing you know, false-positive reports, and I think it might have been that.

“The facilities offered to us are good, that are more than adequate, and we made use of the facilities that were afforded to us, and looking forward to a very good series.”

Bio-bubble taking a toll on Bangladesh cricketers: Nazmul Hasan

There has been a lot of talk worldwide about the players’ mental health due to the bio-bubble. Bangladesh cricket chief Nazmul Hasan acknowledged the same and stated it was no different for their national team due to constant cricket.

“I don’t know about the others, but it’s very difficult for us. There are two reasons, as each country has its own culture. About us, we are used to working closely with the players. The second thing is the way the players need to practice before going to a tour, this is not preparation at all.

“If we consider each match, we went to New Zealand, followed by playing Test matches at home, and played ODIs and T20Is in New Zealand. Then on coming back, completing the quarantine process, we went to Sri Lanka to play Test matches, and now we are taking on Sri Lanka,” Nazmul Hasan added.

Bangladesh won the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Dhaka by 33 runs. The second of the three-ODI series will be played on Tuesday.