BCB rejects cricketers' request to train at Sher-e-Bangla stadium

Dhaka:The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has turned down a request from leading cricketers in the country to resume personal training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, citing health safety concerns in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

The former captain Mushfiqur Rahim was one of the few cricketers who approached the BCB to start practice but was denied permission by the board as they are yet to complete disinfecting their facilities.

''Mushfiq communicated with us, he wanted to begin personal training. But we told him that this is not yet a safe time to do so, he should train at home. Training is important, but players' safety is more important to us,'' BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said as quoted by Cricbuzz quoted on Thursday.

''A few other players wanted to know if they could do individual training. But our message was the same for all. We are working on disinfecting our facilities. But the job is yet to be completed,'' he added.

The BCB began its activities on a limited scale after the government lifted the lockdown in the country from May 31. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken 746 lives and infected over 55,000 so far in Bangladesh.

"We need to consider the overall situation. We can't rush into anything. Many countries are starting their activities; we will definitely do the same. However, we can't give an exact date right now.

We have been working to disinfect the things we need for training after Eid, and it is in the process. After it is completed we can say that we are ready to start cricket training again,'' Nizamuddin said.

"Then we will see the overall situation of the country. After assessing the overall situation we will call the players because, you have to understand, we can't risk the health of the players in any way because the players are a very valuable asset to the BCB," he added.

The BCB Chief Executive said that the board will follow the ICC guidelines regarding resumption of team training.''It is right that some other countries have started their training activities following the ICC guidelines and we will do the same. We'll just see what their plans are before making plans to resume cricket,'' he said.

BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury said that if BCB wants to hold a residential training programme for the whole team, then the medical team will also plan for a bio-safety bubble for the players.

''Bio-safety bubble is what you put in an enclosed space. Keeping everyone inside a cover so that there is no communication from outside. Suppose you call a team of 15 players with five coaching staff, a total of 20 people, you check and test all of them. You isolated them by testing.When you isolate them, you will see everything from their stay, their food to their transportation. They will not come in contact with anyone (outside),'' he said.(UNI)