COVID STRIKES

Sri Lanka West Indies Cricket
West Indies’ bowler Hayden Walsh watches after delivering a ball during their first One-day International cricket match with Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020.
Associated Press/Eranga Jayawardena, File

COVID-19 has hit the West Indies tour of Bangladesh as leg-spinner Hayden Walsh, Jnr. has tested positive for the virus.

A Cricket West Indies (CWI) media release last week said, “Following PCR test administered on Jan. 13, CWI can confirm that Hayden Walsh, Jnr. has tested positive for COVID-19 and will now undergo a period of self-isolation.”

The release added that the Leeward Islands and West Indies leg-spinner, who is asymptomatic, first returned a negative test result on arrival in Bangladesh and then had a positive return on his test in Dhaka. This result was verified by a second positive test two days after.

West Indies’ Romario Shepherd bowls during a training session ahead of their first Twenty20 cricket match against India, in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019.  Associated Press/Mahesh Kumar A., File

Walsh is the second player to be tested positive since the squads were announced on Dec.29.

Walsh has been ruled out of the three ODI series and will remain isolated from the West Indies squad and is now under the care and supervision of the team physician, Dr. Praimanand Singh.

Fast bowler Romario Shepherd returned a positive test shortly after being selected on the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour. He was still in his home country of Guyana when he tested positive.