Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh: BCB set to do away with strict bio-bubble for the Test series

The strict bio-bubbles have made lives complicated for cricketers ever since the deadly COVID-19 made an impact in early 2020. All the teams have been following strict protocols during these testing times while many players have also complained about how taxing it can be. In fact, there have been many instances of players pulling out due to the bio-bubble citing ‘fatigue’ with one of them being Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Now, it has been reported that in order to avoid such problems in the future, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided not to have any bio-bubbles for the upcoming bilateral series against Sri Lanka. Giving further clarification on the same, the BCB physician has said that they will only be undertaking the mandatory COVID-19 tests and nothing additional apart from that.

We will undertake Covid-19 tests and that’s about it: BCB Physician

“There will be no such bio-bubble for the Sri Lanka series. We will undertake Covid-19 tests and that’s about it”, said BCB physician Monzur Hossain as quoted by The Daily Star. “We will tell the players to wear masks and to avoid overcrowded areas. If they do go into overcrowded areas we will suggest they maintain health protocols. They will have no restrictions in terms of going out of the hotel and moving freely,” Monzur informed.

Sri Lanka will be visiting Bangladesh for a two-match Test series. The first game will be held in Chittagong on May 15 whereas, the second and final match will be played at Dhaka on May 23. Prior to the start of the series, the Dimuth Karunaratne-led side are also slated to play a  two-day practice game on May 11 at BKSP.

The Test series will be a part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle. This series was originally scheduled to take place in October-November 2020 but had to be postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bangladesh will be led by Mominul Haque. The hosts will be hoping to do well in this series after a 0-2 whitewash in South Africa last month.