BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon says 'Cricketers to get vaccines on a priority basis'

News Desk: Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan Papon said on Wednesday that their cricketers will get corona vaccine on a priority basis.

“We know that government will bring 50 lakhs vaccines and there is an allotment for them while there will be others bringing it privately (through Beximco) and it is expected to arrive in mid-February,” Nazmul told reporters.

‘’I heard that government have a plan and there is no reason why cricketers won’t get it but I am not sure about their scheduling. I think cricketers will be the priority when it arrives privately,” he added.

 

BCB earlier stated that they have decided to buy corona vaccines immediately after it arrives in the country, instead of waiting for it to reach through government channels.

The Bangladesh government will be procuring the Covishield vaccines from local pharmaceutical supplier Beximco, which will be importing them from the Serum Institute of India (SII).

According to the government's plan, sports federations and organizations are expected to receive the vaccines for their respective national-level athletes free of cost from the second or the third month after the arrival of Covishield.

However, BCB is not willing to wait that long considering they have got a jam-packed international calendar.

The board has instead decided to source the vaccine from the pharma company whose managing director, incidentally, is also BCB chief Nazmul Hassan.

Nazmul added that he is expecting to start the domestic season by mid-April and hinted that they are expecting that cricketers will be vaccinated by that time.

 

Dhaka Premier League, the most prestigious 50-over Dhaka club based tournament that is considered to be the major bread and butter earning tournament for the majority of cricketers, postponed after the first round following the arrival of corona pandemic.