Pakistan players impacted by viral fever ahead of upcoming match against Australia

The Pakistan cricket team, led by Babar Azam, finds itself at a crucial juncture in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. Despite commencing the tournament with two consecutive victories, the high-profile team faced a significant defeat against Rohit Sharma’s Indian cricket team at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

While there are still ample opportunities for the Pakistan cricket team to stage a comeback in the Cricket World Cup, a loss to India is always impactful. In their upcoming match on October 20 in Bengaluru against Australia, there have been reports suggesting that some members of the team, led by Babar Azam, are dealing with viral fever.

However, a spokesperson from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) clarified, as reported by at least two Pakistan media outlets, that it was not a case of viral infection, and the players are in the process of recovery.

“Thankfully, there is no viral infection or disease. Those who are in the stage of recovery remain under the team medical panel’s observation. 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,” PCB spokesperson told Geo. tv.

The October 20 clash between Pakistan and Australia holds significant importance for both teams. Pakistan, with two victories and one loss, is seeking to recover from their defeat to arch-rivals India. Meanwhile, Australia, after opening their win tally against Sri Lanka, aims to build momentum following earlier losses to India and South Africa.

Zaka Ashraf was unhappy with some incidents

In the meantime, a source within the Pakistan Cricket Board revealed that the board’s chief, Zaka Ashraf, returned from India on Monday. Currently, he is engaged in a series of meetings with senior board officials to review and discuss his visit to India. The source also mentioned that, at present, the chairman is solely in the process of discussing his visit with his senior aides.

“Zaka Ashraf was himself present at Ahmedabad for the match against India and is witness to some incidents which has left him unhappy despite the Indian cricket officials’ hospital during his stay there,” the source said.

Pakistan’s team director and chief coach, Mickey Arthur, spoke about the crowd behaviour and its impact on his team after the defeat to India and chairman, Greg Barclay, has responded that the sport’s world governing body was doing its best to make the World Cup a successful event.