Bangladesh batsman Saif tests positive for COVID-19 before Sri Lanka tour

Coronavirus tests on Bangladesh national team cricketers and support staff have revealed that batsman Saif Hassan and BCB’s head of physical performance Nicholas Trevor Lee are infected ahead of the trip to Sri Lanka.

A media statement from the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the development on Tuesday evening.

In the first batch, tests were conducted on samples of 17 players and seven staff members on Monday. Those who tested positive have been asked to remain in self isolation until further tests are conducted.

The 21-year-old batsman debuted in a Test against Pakistan last February. He also played in Tests against Zimbabwe at home and was a likely pick for the squad for the Sri Lanka tour.

Lee, who joined the Bangladesh coaching staff on a three-year contract in March this year, returned from England to join the team about two weeks ago after a long vacation due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The BCB statement said he had also tested positive on Aug 14 in Dubai. He then self-isolated for several days and later tested negative on Aug 23.

He also went through a two-week quarantine after returning to Dhaka. But he ended up testing negative in the first batch of tests on the Bangladesh squad.

“Our COVID-19 consultant is looking into whether Lee’s infection is new or the old one. We’ll take steps based on the assessment,” said Debashish Biswas, the BCB’s chief physician.

Training at Mirpur grounds was halted on Thursday following several cricketers showing symptoms after a trainer contracted the disease. Practices are set to resume on Wednesday.

BCB carried out the initial batch of tests on players who are likely to be part of the squad for the Sri Lanka tour. It aims to have four more players tested while samples of another seven support staff were gathered on Tuesday.

Virus tests will be carried out in another three spells. The cricketers and staff members will check into the team hotel on Sep 18 following the announcement of the final squad. They will undergo tests twice there before boarding the flight to Sri Lanka.

The BCB High Performance team will travel with the Tigers.