BD upset as Aussie’s Covid demands force Mushfiqur to miss T20Is

Bangladesh are unhappy with Mushfiqur Rahim's enforced absence from the Bangladesh squad for the upcoming T20Is at home against Australia, a direct result of the Covid-19 protocols demanded by Cricket Australia. The word “unfair” is floating around in some private conversations among players and BCB officials, and the general feeling is that CA has asked for too much, and the BCB has gone a bit too far in accepting the demands.

The two boards had agreed to include their respective bio-bubbles in Zimbabwe and the West Indies as part of the mandatory pre-series ten-day quarantine in Dhaka. But Rahim had to leave Harare for home after both his parents contracted Covid-19. As a result, he can't be in the Dhaka bio-bubble now. What has upset the Bangladesh team even more is that while Rahim has not been allowed to re-enter the bubble, the players who have returned from Zimbabwe have had to do so after going through four airports - Harare, Johannesburg, Doha and Dhaka - with potentially greater exposure to the virus, but there have been no objections there. “It is unfair what happened with Mushfiq,” a member of Bangladesh's tour party to Zimbabwe, told ESPNcricinfo. “We came in a commercial flight passing through three airports so I don't know if it makes much sense to keep Mushfiq out of the series. He went back home from the middle of a tour for a family problem. So to not allow him to enter the quarantine after just two or three days, is not right.”

Rahim had himself planned to be available for the Australia T20Is. He had initially taken leave from the Zimbabwe T20Is with an eye on being available for the Australia series. The leave was granted, but once the BCB-CA agreement on the bio-secure bubbles came in, he was asked to stay with the squad in Zimbabwe, even for the T20Is. His parents' ill-health forced a change in plans. And when the home series quarantine was brought forward from July 22 to July 20, Rahim had to miss out. The BCB says it did ask CA to reconsider the stance on Rahim, but to no avail. “The agreement between CA and BCB says that there is no chance for allowing anyone from outside into the bio-bubble,” a BCB official said. “We have to hold the series with only those inside the bio-bubble. There will be challenges but this is the new normal. I think the selectors have picked the players who are best available during this scenario. There are no alternatives but to take our best available options.”