BCB to follow 'one ticket per person' rule for 1st T20I against Zimbabwe due to Coronavirus threat

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reacted to the growing Coronavirus concerns by limiting the crowds for the upcoming first T20I match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to be played in the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. It is one of the steps the board is taking with the growing threat of the deadly Coronavirus or COVID-19.

Bangladesh has already defeated Zimbabwe in the only-Test and also won the three-match ODI series by a margin of 3-0. Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal were the stars with the bat as Tamim made two centuries, while Liton made the highest ODI score by a Bangladeshi– 176 in the third ODI match. On the other hand, Mohammad Saifuddin picked 9 wickets and Taijul Islam took 8 wickets in the series.

England team also banned handshakes amid Coronavirus threat

The Bangladesh board has capped the ticket sales to one per person only for the first 20-over international to be played in Dhaka later today. With such restrictions, the target is to keep the crowd to one-fifth of the capacity at the 25,000-seater Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The chairman of the BCB’s media committee, Jalal Yunus confirmed the development.

This announcement came soon after Bangladesh government’s decision to postpone a massive rally on Sunday to commemorate the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the father of the nation, which falls on March 17. However, this decision of BCB may have far-reaching effects given the number of cricketing events planned for this month, including the second T20I against Zimbabwe.

Also, in line is the much-anticipated Asia XI v World XI two-match T20I series, to be played on March 20 and 21 in Dhaka, along with a concert to be held as part of Rehman’s birth centenary celebrations on March 18. This is in line with other cricketing nations taking precautions due to COVID-19 effects across the globe.

England has taken the no handshake approach on their tour to Sri Lanka, while South Africa have also decided to keep away from customary handshakes on their tour of India for three ODIs. Nepal cricket board had to indefinitely postpone its marquee T20 event, the Everest Premier League. The Pakistan Super League got a green signal despite a scare in Karachi and the Indian Premier League will also be played without any postponement or rescheduling, from March 29.