Former Bangladesh One-day International captain Mashrafe Mortaza on Saturday tested positive for Covid-19.
“He has been suffering from fever for two days. COVID-19 test was conducted on Friday and we got the result today. He has been found positive. He’s now staying in isolation at home in Dhaka. Please pray for him,” Masrhafe’s younger brother Morsalin Bin Mortaza told United News of Bangladesh, according to PTI.
According to local media, some of Mortaza’s family members had tested positive earlier.
Mortaza, who is also a member of Bangladesh parliament, was active with philanthropic activities during the pandemic.
Mortaza, who is also a member of parliament in Bangladesh, stepped down from captaincy earlier this year. The pacer played 36 Tests, 220 ODIs and 54 T20Is for Bangladesh. He is widely praised for turning Bangladesh into a competitive outfit, especially at home, over the past few years.
Earlier, another former player, Nafees Iqbal also tested positive for coronavirus, according to a report on Daily Star.
The newspaper stated that Iqbal, elder brother of current ODI captain Tamim, confirmed that he has contracted the virus and is currently in home isolation in Chittagong. Last month, Bangladesh’s development coach and former first-class cricketer Ashiqur Rahman had tested positive for the Covid-19.
Pakistan’s three cricketers – former captain Shahid Afridi, Taufeeq Umar and Zafar Sarfaraz – have also tested positive for the virus.
(With PTI inputs)