Bangladesh Squad To Undergo Quarantine As Spin Coach Rangana Herath Tests Positive

Former Sri Lankan spinner and current Bangladesh spin coach, Rangana Herath, returned positive test results while on tour in New Zealand, forcing the entire Bangladesh squad to be put in quarantine.

Currently, the squad is holed up in Christchurch, where they landed after leaving Bangladesh. Herath is portraying mild symptoms but has returned a negative test since testing positive on Wednesday.

Eight Bangladeshi players were put in isolation as a passenger on their flight from Malaysia to New Zealand also had infected the virus. “Herath is corona positive and will be doing extended quarantine till he is cleared,” Bangladesh Cricket Operations chairman, Akram Khan, said.

“Look there was a corona positive in the plane and a couple of members of our squad along with Herath were in close contact with him. They are asked to quarantine while Herath was found positive from them,” he added.

“We will get a clear picture tomorrow” – BCB CEO

The country’s cricketing board CEO, Nizamuddin Chowdhury added that this will continue to be the new reality for a while and they will need to find a way to deal with it. The team actually began training on Thursday but has been asked to undergo a 3-day quarantine period by the New Zealand health authorities.

“We’re maintaining the existing protocol. We will get a clear picture tomorrow (December 17) as they have taken a few samples today and the results are due. Since the players are isolated, hopefully, no other complications will arise. This is part of the new reality,” Nizamuddin said.

The 2-match Test series against the Kiwis will begin on January 1 but Bangladesh have intra-squad practice matches scheduled earlier.

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