Tigers start home quarantine for NZ series

The 19-member Bangladesh squad along with support staff and match officials has begun a two-day home quarantine on Sunday before entering the team hotel for the five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand, said Debashis Chowdhury, chief physician of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

‘Players, support staff and match officials are going through a two-day quarantine at their respective homes from Sunday and it will end on Wednesday.’ Debashis said on Sunday Before entering the bio-bubble, all of them will also have to come out negative in a Covid-19 test. Both the hosts and the visiting New Zealand team are expected to enter the bio-bubble in their team hotel at the capital on August 24, informed Debashis. ‘Meanwhile, they will go through a Covid test. They will enter into the team hotel on August 24. New Zealand will join them on the same date.’ The coaching staff members and players who don’t have a residence in Dhaka are doing the two-day home quarantine in individual rooms inside the team hotel which were arranged by the board, said Debashis. BCB has instructed all players, support staff and officials to strictly follow the home quarantine rules and has barred the cricketers from going out even for individual training. ‘The members of the Bangladesh team won’t be allowed to leave home while they are in home quarantine. They are instructed not to go to the venue even for training,’ the chief physician said. Earlier this month, the board had successfully staged a T20 series against Australia, where they had doubled down on bio-security and taken many over the top, if not excessive, measures. The most exaggerated step, perhaps, was the decision to change the ball every time it went into the empty galleries at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The board has said that the bio-bubble arrangements for the series against the Black Caps will replicate the recently concluded Australia series but Debashis informed that a discussion is going on about reversing the ball changing measure. ‘Bio-bubble arrangement for New Zealand will be a replica of the Australia series. There is some discussion going on about the changing of ball every time it goes to the gallery as the players and the team management have said that they are facing some problems because of it. ‘Other than that, everything will remain the same. There will be no supporters in the gallery, Covid testing protocol will also remain the same as the Australia series.’ Debashis also informed that the board has again booked an entire section of the hotel for the teams and all players and officials will be tested multiple times for the virus during the series. ‘They will go through a minimum of four-five official Covid tests in the series along with the New Zealand members. ‘The east wing of the team hotel will be divided into two parts. One part is for the Kiwis and the other is for Bangladesh.’ The matches are scheduled to be held on September 1,3,5,8 and 10 at the SBNS.