People play cricket at a park amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi, India on Monday. Photo: AFP

It was a case of COVID-19 stops play on Friday as a cricket match in Bangladesh involving a visiting Irish team was abandoned part-way through after one of the tourists tested positive.

Players from the Bangladesh Emerging Team and Ireland Wolves were tested for contracting coronavirus on Thursday but a delay meant that the results did not arrive until after the match in Chittagong, Bangladesh, had begun.

When they arrived, umpires were informed that Irish all-rounder Ruhan Pretorius - who had already bowled four overs and picked up a wicket - had tested positive.

"We isolated the player immediately and stopped the game. We had no other choice as part of our epidemic protocol for the series," Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Nizamuddin Chowdhury told AFP on Friday.

The Ireland Wolves arrived in Bangladesh on a month-long tour on February 18 to play a four-day match, five one-day matches and two T20 matches.

AFP