Prothom Alo
Sri Lanka cricket team have arrived in Dhaka on Sunday to play a three-match series against Bangladesh as part of the ICC’s ODI Super League.
A chartered flight of Sri Lankan Airlines, carrying the Sri Lanka team, landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 8:15 pm. The Lankan team then checked in at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel where they will complete a three-day quarantine. If they are tested negative for coronavirus infection twice during this time, they will then get the opportunity of the practice session.
As per schedule, the visitors will join practice sessions at the Academy ground in the capital’s Mipur on 19-20 May. They will also play a practice match among themselves at the BKSP ground in Savar.
The ODI matches between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on 23, 25 and 28 May.
BCB’s physician Debashish Chowdhury told the newspersons at the airport on Sunday, “Sri Lanka players will undergo a total of four Covid-19 tests during the quarantine. Both teams will play their first match on 23 May based of the report of the tests, to be carried out on 22 May. Before that, both teams will play practice matches among themselves.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) started carrying out coronavirus testing for the Bangladesh players on 15 Monday as the later are set to enter the bio-bubble on 18 May. More tests will be run on 16 and 17 May. Debashish Chowdhury said Bangladesh players will check in the team hotel based of the test report.
Besides, the BCB is trying to convince the government to relax the quarantine rules for Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Both Shakib and Mustafiz returned home from India on Thursday, and are under a 14-day institutional quarantine in Dhaka until 21 May.
