Pakistani ‘players sick from hotel confinement’
Hasan Ali, a fast bowler, thinks that the Pakistan team’s fever might be because they have spent most of their time at the World Cup in their hotel.
“We don’t get to go out much. Hasan said on Thursday, “If we do want to go out, we have to go with a whole security team.”
Only two of the 15-person Pakistani team had ever played in India before the World Cup. This is their first trip there in seven years. Pakistan and India are neighbors, but their political and diplomatic ties are tense. Because of this, Pakistan and India only play each other in international cricket games and not in bilateral events.
Islamabad had to give the go-ahead for Pakistan to play in the World Cup, and even after it was given, the government said it still had major concerns about the team’s safety. The Pakistan team didn’t get their visas until two days before they left.
Another guest, Hasan, 29, married to an Indian woman, said, “The hospitality is good and we are well taken care of. But we can’t go outside and we have to tell security before we go out because security is a problem.”
Hasan was asked about the 13 healthy players who could play against Australia on Friday. He said, “Yes, most players have recovered from fever, but room sickness happens when you live in a hotel room.”
On Tuesday, six Pakistan players—Abdullah Shafique, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, and Mohammad Haris and Zaman Khan—were sick with the flu and fever.
Pakistani fans from across the border can’t really go to the World Cup because they couldn’t get passes. Nearly none from India attended the 132,000-seater stadium in Ahmedabad for the big game. Most of those who did were foreigners from the US and UK.
“The number of fans has increased, and there are now about 45 to 47 journalists.” “We miss our fans, but we can’t do anything about it,” said Hasan, who has taken seven wickets in this World Cup for Pakistan.
There were angry people in Ahmedabad when the Pakistan team played, which led the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to file a protest with the International Cricket Council. They spoke out against what they saw as “inappropriate behavior” from Indian fans toward the Pakistani players.
