Sri Lanka will be the second foreign team to tour Bangladesh amid COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sri Lankan side is all set to tour Bangladesh for a short three-match ODI series, scheduled to begin from May 23, announced by the country’s cricket board on Wednesday (5 May).
The team that will be leaving for Bangladesh on May 16 will have to undergo a short quarantine before playing an intra-squad practice match on May 21.
The three-match ODI series will be played at the Sher-e-Bangladesh National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur with all day/night games being played on May 23, 25, and 28, according to a release from Sri Lanka Cricket.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman to undergo 14-day quarantine on return to Bangladesh
Sri Lanka will be the second foreign team to visit the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic after West Indies who had toured Bangladesh for a two-match Test series and a three-match ODI series in Dhaka and Chattogram in January-February.
With the BCCI and IPL governing council indefinitely suspending the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) due to positive COVID-19 cases in teams’ bio-bubbles, Bangladesh players Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman could be back for the series.
Even though Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) tried to get some exemptions in quarantine for the duo, Bangladesh's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) made it clear that Shakib and Mustafizur won’t be getting any relaxation of quarantine protocol.
Due to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in India, even flights from India to Bangladesh were banned. Hence, BCB had to make a special arrangement for Shakib and Mustafizur to reach Dhaka by road.
(With PTI inputs)