‘BCB closely monitoring coronavirus situation’

The news of former ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam testing positive for Covid-19 on Saturday came as a huge blow Just as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was planning to resume cricketing activities in the country.

There were talks of individual preparation during this period and the BCB had started taking measures by preparing individual training facilities. But the news of Mashrafe, Nazmul and former cricketer Nafees Iqbal testing positive has caused concern in the cricket fraternity.

According to BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the board is closely monitoring the situation and it advised the cricketers to follow safety measures.

"We have always advised our cricketers to stay safe until things get normal again. As per the requirements of the cricketers, we prepared facilities for their training. However, the players did get to realise the current situation and did not come to practise. Still we would like to advise our cricketers to follow safety measures properly," Nizamuddin told The Daily Star.

A few cricketing nations have started training camps by maintaining safety measures and following health guidelines provided by government authorities.

When his attention was drawn to other countries, the CEO said that they also realised the need to start training.

"We also need to look forward and find a way out to resume things at some point. The board, especially the BCB president Nazmul Hassan, myself and our medical team are in constant touch with the players," he added.