Shakib Al Hasan has said that he was in self-quarantine for two weeks in a Wisconsin hotel after having travelled from Dhaka amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Shakib, who is serving a one-year ban for failing to report bookie approaches, is now back home with his pregnant wife in USA. She is expected to give birth to their second child next month, reports Cricinfo.
"It was a tough period," Shakib told the Dhaka-based Prothom Alo in his first interview since last October. "It had no relation to normal life. It was like adopting to a different condition, as we say in cricket. Since I had come on a flight from Bangladesh, I didn't want my family to be at risk.
"After I had returned home, I went out just once to buy some stuff. I was wearing gloves and mask. We are constantly washing hands and using sanitizers. Whenever someone comes home, we keep their clothes separate or wash it."
Shakib, who will be eligible to return to competitive cricket in October later this year, expected Bangladesh's cricketers to work on their fitness during this downtime. "I am sure everyone is doing work at home," he said. Cricketers know what they have do in this situation, especially about their fitness.
I know it can be hard to focus but they have to do something. They can do what everyone else does at home, for half-an-hour to one hour. There's not much one can do."