Shakib among players to take fitness tests

With the threat of coronavirus transmission still looming over Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is all set to host the second tournament amid the pandemic in the form of the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

Players in the draft list for the tournament -- other than national, high performance and under-19 cricketers who played last month's BCB President's Cup -- will start appearing for mandatory fitness tests from today, which they will have to pass to take part in the tournament.

A total of 113 cricketers will give the fitness test in the next two days. According to Yakub Chowdhury Dalim, the strength and conditioning coach of the high-performance unit, the players will have to cross the 11-point benchmark for the beep test. However, he also added that senior players like Tushar Imran, Abdur Razzak and others may be given some leeway.

"We will do the beep tests of the players, dividing them into groups of 20 cricketers each. They have to pass the 11-point mark which has been kept as the benchmark. Obviously, fitness plays a huge part for players who will be returning after a long gap. Earlier we had done the yo-yo test for players of the national, high performance and the under-19 teams but for others in the draft list we will conduct the beep test. In future, we will gradually introduce the yo-yo test for everyone," said Dalim.

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who returned from the US after the end of his one-year ban by the ICC for not reporting corrupt approaches from a bookie, will also appear in the fitness test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

The top-ranked ODI all-rounder was however in hot water as he attended an inauguration of a super shop in the capital less than twelve hours since his return from the US, contrary to health safety guidelines of going into quarantine after returning from abroad, even if the returnee has a Covid-19 negative certificate. The champion all-rounder tested negative when he took the coronavirus test on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh T20 skipper Mahmudullah Riyad -- who was supposed to travel to Pakistan to take part in the Pakistan Super League playoffs for Multan Sultans -- tested positive twice for the virus and is currently in self isolation.

"I had done the test before leaving for Pakistan and I was shocked after the result came positive on November 6. So, I took another test to make sure and it came back positive again. At the moment I don't have any physical problem but I had a bit of a cold two days back. Currently, I am in home isolation," said Mahmudullah.

Tigers' ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal is set to travel to Pakistan tomorrow to take part in the PSL for Lahore Qalandars if his Covid-19 test, taken yesterday, comes back negative. Tamim is expected to take part in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup after returning from his PSL stint. The PSL final is slated for November 17.

Earlier the BCB confirmed the five teams for the Bangabandhu T20 Cup with the players' draft scheduled to take place on November 12. The board had also finalised the gradings of the players in four grades -- A, B, C and D. Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman are in grade A and will receive Taka 15 lakh each.

Since Mahmudullah tested positive, the board is yet to announce any replacement for him in grade A.

There are 20 players in Grade B, who will receive Tk 10 lakh each, and grade C has 25 cricketers who will receive Tk 6 lakh each while young cricketers in grade D will get Tk four lakh each.