Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has tested positive for Covid-19. Nazmul Islam and Nafees Iqbal, two other Bangladesh cricketers, also tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
Mortaza, 36, a veteran of 36 Tests, 220 ODIs and 54 T20Is, was reportedly unwell for the last couple of days and got tested on Friday. He is among the first cricketers from Bangladesh to have contracted the virus, as the pandemic grows in the country.
“Today my Covid-19 results came as positive. Everyone please pray for my quick recovery,” Mortaza wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday evening.
Most of the cricketers who have contracted the virus were engaged in actively being on the streets to aid in humanitarian work to combat the Covid-19 health crisis.
Mortaza had become a Member of Parliament from Narail constituency in 2018. Since the Covid-19 pandemic reached Bangladesh, Mortaza has been working to fight the health crisis in his constituency.
28-year-old left-arm spinner Islam, who was involved in distributing food and other supplies in his hometown Narayanganj, one of the worst-hit areas in Bangladesh, also tested positive.
Nafees Iqbal, Tamim Iqbal’s elder brother, who played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs, also tested positive.
Covid-19 cases have crossed 100,000 in Bangladesh with over 1400 deaths.
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