Quarantine-free Tigers start training today in NZ

Bangladesh Test cricketers, who are now in New Zealand, are allowed to start outdoor training from today as all of them have been found covid-19 negative in the tests conducted on Sunday.

BCB Director Khaled Mahmud, also the team director for New Zealand tour, in a vide message confirmed the development.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was our last Covid-19 test here. This morning (Sunday) the reports came in and we all were found Covid-19 negative.  Therefore, we are now able to get out of our rooms and can train in the outdoors”, Mahmud told the reporters from New Zealand.

On Tuesday morning local time, the Bangladesh Test team will hold their first training session in New Zealand after their arrival.

They will now leave the isolation center and will move to a hotel, according to New Zealand’s policy now the cricketers will roam freely as there will not be any bio-security protocol.

“Tomorrow (today) at 1015 in the morning, we have a scheduled practice at the Lincoln university ground. There we will have the gym facility also. After the training session, we will move into a hotel. Then we can roam freely”, said Mahmud.

Bangladesh Test team left for New Zealand on December 8 midnight and upon arriving in Christ Church, they were sent into managed isolation quarantine.

Initially, they were supposed to stay in quarantine for seven days but as there was a person carrying the Omicron variant was there in the same flight and some of the team members sat close to that person, the quarantine period extended.

Rangana Herath, the spin bowling coach was found Covid-19 positive and due to the extension of quarantine, some cricketers even refuged to play.

But now, all the clouds are clear and the Tigers are back in action to take on the World Test Championship Winners New Zealand at their own turf.