Covid-19 positive Mahmudullah misses PSL playoffs

Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad will miss the Pakistan Super League (PSL) playoffs after testing positive for Covid-19.

The 34-year-old was scheduled to fly to Pakistan tonight, but his Covid-19 tests came positive twice and he is currently in isolation, according to sources.

As per government regulations, an outbound passenger needs to obtain a Covid-19 negative certificate before leaving the country.

Sources inside the Bangladesh Cricket Board said Mahmudullah was asymptomatic. 

The all-rounder, who led his team to the title of a three-team fifty-over domestic tournament last month, was supposed to play for PSL table-toppers Multan Sultans, where he would have replaced Moeen Ali.

The Covid-19 positive result also puts Mahmudullah's participation in the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 tournament in doubt. The five-team T20 event is likely to be played from the last week of this month. The draft for the event featuring 160 players will be held on November 12.

Mahmudullah and Tamim Iqbal were called up for the PSL playoffs as overseas replacements. Tamim is expected to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday. The left-hander will join Lahore Qalandars as Chris Lynn's replacement.

Tamim, too, has taken a Covid-19 test and is likely to get the result today. Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan, who returned from USA in the early hours of Friday, returned negative result after undergoing Covid test yesterday.