Kolkata, Nov 21 (IANS): Four cricketers have returned positive results for Covid out of 142 players who were tested, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) announced on Friday. A couple of days ago, Bengal cricket captain Abhimanyu Easwaran had tested positive.

These cases are a setback for the CAB's Bengal T20 Challenge, which is scheduled to begin on November 24 and could have potentially put the competition in jeopardy.

"A total of 142 persons had been tested one day prior to checking into the hotel for Covid 19 and four have returned positive," CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das said in a statement.

The players who have tested positive are Abhishek Raman (East Bengal), Writtick Chatterjee (Mohun Bagan), Dip Chatterjee (Customs), and Partha Pratim Sen (Anti-Corruption).

Das said the players have been referred to the CAB medical team for treatment.

On November 18, Easwaran, who played the Ranji Trophy final against Saurashtra in March, had tested positive for Coronavirus.

The opening batsman was captain of the Bengal team that lost to Saurashtra in the final of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of the first-inning lead in March.