It was only a week ago that we reported news of former Pakistan captain and one of the world’s most destructive all-rounders Shahid Afridi being detected for coronavirus. He was one of the first high-profile cricketers to have tested positive for the disease which has turned out to be a global pandemic. However, he wasn’t the last.
Earlier today, news of former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza contracting the disease also came in. Mortaza is a member of Parliament and like Afridi, he too was super active in carrying out humanitarian activities for COVID-19 relief across the country, especially in his hometown Narail. We’re suspecting this is how he got the disease too.
Mortaza took to social media to announce the same, posting to Facebook an image of himself with a mask, with caption, “Today my Covid-19 results came as positive. Everyone please pray for my quick recovery. The number of infected has now crossed one lakh. We all have to become more careful. Let’s all stay at home, and not get out unless it is necessary. I am abiding by the protocol at home. Rather than panic, we need to raise awareness about corona.”
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His brother also confirmed the news saying he was suffering from fever for a couple of days before testing positive. It is said that a couple of members from Mortaza’s family also had the disease before him. One of the most influential cricketers of Bangladesh, Mortaza stepped down from captaincy last year and now, the 36-year old only concentrates on the ODI format of the game.
To make matters worse, Mortaza wasn’t the only one to have been tested positive for COVID-19. While Mortaza is in self-isolation in his home in Dhaka, former cricket Nafees Iqbal also confirmed he got the virus and is in self-isolation in his home in Chittagong. Nafees has played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs for Bangladesh and is the elder brother of current ODI captain and opener, Tamim Iqbal.
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Along with these two, 28-year old spinner Nazmul Islam also tested positive, someone who played 1 Test, 5 ODIs and 13 T20Is for Bangladesh since his debut for the national side in 2018. He’s the youngest of the three to get the disease and it’s now clear that Bangladesh is struggling to contain the pandemic.
With this, international cricket will also take a serious hit. England vs West Indies is the only confirmed tour right now which begins early in July. As for Bangladesh, they were expected to tour Sri Lanka for 3 Tests in July and then New Zealand in August, but the likeliness of those tours happening is very, very low.
