Seven members of the Bangladesh Ranji Trophy team tested positive for COVID-19, and their preparations fell into chaos a few days before they started participating in the country’s premier competition.
Bangladesh, which is placed in Group B along with Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana and Tripura, will start its campaign against Tripura in Bangalore on January 13.
“Considering the current pandemic, the Bangladesh Cricket Association (CAB) has conducted RTPCR tests on all Bangladeshi cricketers as a safety measure,” CAB Secretary Snehasish Ganguly said in a statement on Sunday evening.
“The results came out and it was found that some players tested positive. CAB is taking all necessary precautions and actions in this regard.”
According to sources, six Bangladeshi players-Sudip Chatterjee, Anustup Majumdar, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Geet Puri, Pradipta Pramanik, Surajit Yadav-and assistant coach Sourasish Lahiri were infected with the virus.
On Sunday, the seven players attended the team warm-up match held at the second campus of Jadavpur University in Salt Lake City.
“The details of the strain have yet to be determined. They are quarantining in accordance with the agreement,” the source said.
This progress means that their two-day warm-up match against Mumbai led by Prithvi Shaw in the CCFC stands was cancelled from Tuesday.
Whether they will participate in the second warm-up match remains to be seen.
CAB also decided to suspend all local tournaments currently in progress and called for an emergency Supreme Council meeting to be held on Tuesday to review the current COVID-19 situation.
CAB Chairman Avishek Dalmiya said in a joint statement with Secretary Snehasish: “Before the meeting, taking into account the current epidemic situation and recent craze, CAB decided to suspend all local tournaments currently underway.”
“CAB also took immediate steps to vaccinate registered players in the 15-18 age group,” it added.
According to government data released on Sunday, the number of daily coronavirus infections in West Bengal in the city increased 14 times in a week.
The state recorded 6,153 infections on Sunday, including 3,194 infections in Kolkata. On December 26, it was 544 and 219, respectively.
According to government announcements, eight people died from the coronavirus on Sunday, compared with nine deaths the day before.

Complete News Source : TechiLive