Mashrafe tests positive for Covid-19

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has tested positive for coronavirus, confirming the news through a Facebook post yesterday. The 36-year-old, who is the elected Member of Parliament from Narail-2, relayed a positive message and sought prayers for a quick recovery.

" Today [Saturday] I tested positive for COVID-19. Seeking everyone's prayers so that I can recover quickly. The number of infected [in the country] has already surpassed 1 lakh and we need to be careful. Let's not step outside unless necessary. I am receiving treatment at home and following all the guidelines. We must not be afraid, instead we need to be aware," read Mashrafe's post, which included a picture of him

wearing a mask alongside a digital copy of his test report. The charismatic leader, who had been involved in various philanthropic activities during the pandemic, had his samples tested at the Child Health Research Foundation laboratory.

Earlier, Mashrafe's brother Morsalin Bin Mortaza informed the media that the pacer had been suffering from fever for the past few days.

"Mashrafe had a fever for the past two days. His sample for the coronavirus test was collected on Friday and it came back positive today [Saturday]. He has a slight fever with body aches. As he has no other symptoms, Mashrafe is currently receiving treatment at home. He is staying in isolation and is doing well at the moment and his family is also fine," informed Morsalin.

The pacer's family was hit by the coronavirus earlier this week as two of his relatives -- his mother-in-law and his wife's niece -- contracted the virus on June 15.

Bangladesh's cricket fraternity overall was also hit hard by the coronavirus yesterday as left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam and former opener Nafees Iqbal confirmed that they had tested positive.

Nazmul informed that he had been feeling unwell since his trip to Narsingdi for relief work last week. Nazmul, who did his test on Wednesday, received the result yesterday and has kept himself in isolation. Earlier yesterday, Nafees, who is the older brother of Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal, sought prayers for a quick recovery and informed that he was in good health despite testing positive.

Ashikur Rahman, a development coach of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), was the first detected Covid-19 positive case in Bangladesh cricket. Ashikur, who had tested positive on May 9, recovered and was released by the hospital on May 29.