ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Pakistan cricket players suffer with viral fever

Pakistan cricket players affected with viral fever.

Pakistan cricket team have arrived in Bangalore for their next encounter scheduled against an out-of-form Australian team on October 20. Pakistan lost their previous game against hosts India in Ahmedabad and will be looking to regain their pace once again for the rest of the campaign. Pakistan suffered a 7-wickets loss, and India have now suffered a ‘viral’ attack on their key players. A few key Pakistan squad members are down with viral fever.

Pakistan’s key pacer Shaheen Afridi, along with opener Abdullah Shafique and spinner Usama Mir, are currently battling with the fever, while Fakhar Zaman has also reported an injury problem. The left-hand batter has informed the camp about experiencing knee pain. These players are uncertain for the next encounter that is set to be played on Friday. Pakistan arrived in Bangalore on Monday. They played their first two league games in Hyderabad.

Pakistan in trouble?

While some media reports suggested that players are uncertain about their participation in the next game, Pakistan team’s media manager informed that players have made a full recovery. According to Pakistan media manager, “Some players fell ill in the past few days, but most of them have made a full recovery. Those who are still on a path to recovery are under the watchful eye of the team's medical panel."

Pakistan cricket team also cancelled their practice session on Tuesday due to the prevailing fitness issue. Pakistan will come back for the practice session on Wednesday and will spend 3 hours in preparation. Earlier, India had to suffer a viral attack in their camp as Ishan Kishan was also down with viral fever before the start of the final ODI against Australia in Rajkot. Later on, Shubman Gill suffered from dengue earlier in the 2023 World Cup.

Pakistan will be looking to regain momentum once again in their World Cup campaign after losing their last game against host India. Pakistan defeated Netherlands in their opening game and chased down a record-breaking 345 runs target against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad. Australia have won their last game against Sri Lanka and lost their first two games against India in Chennai and South Africa in Lucknow, respectively.