World Cup: Multiple Pakistan players fall sick before Australia match
In a major development, the Pakistan cricket team has been struck with viral infection ahead of their crucial 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup clash against Australia. It is understood that multiple players have fallen sick, with one of them still down with fever. Pakistan are currently in Bengaluru where they will next play. The M Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the Australia-Pakistan match.
Why does this story matter?
Pakistan will be raring to go after suffering a thumping defeat to India in Ahmedabad. However, they might have to alter the Playing XI in the Australia match as some of their players have contracted the aforementioned viral infection. As per Wisden, while most of the squad members remain unperturbed, at least two players are still unwell.
Pakistan players went out for dinner
It has been learned that the Pakistan players went out for a team dinner in Bengaluru on October 16. "Some players got fever in the past few days and most of them have fully recovered from it. Those who are in the stage of recovery remain under the team medical panel's observation. Pakistan will train today from 6-8pm," Pakistan's media manager Ahsan Nagi said.
Practice session cut-short by an hour
As mentioned, the Pakistan squad was supposed to have a practice session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 17 from 6-9pm (IST). However, the session has been trimmed down by an hour.
WC 2023: Two wins and a defeat for Pakistan
After winning their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, respectively, Pakistan lost to their arch-rivals India. It was their eighth consecutive defeat to the Men in Blue in ODI World Cups. Pakistan's clash against Australia is scheduled for October 20 in Bengaluru. The Men in Green are currently fourth on the points table with a Net Run Rate of -0.137.
