World Cup 2023: Pakistan reportedly hit with illness scare ahead of Australia match

The Pakistan team has been hit with an illness scare in their camp ahead of their ICC World Cup match against Australia in Bengaluru.

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Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique is down with fever while pacer Shaheen Afridi and leg-spinner Usama Mir too had shown similar symptoms, according to a report on Geo News. Afridi and Mir, however, have since regained full health with Shafique yet to recover from the illness.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesperson, however, denied the spread of a viral or a similarly contagious disease, adding that the squad had been screened for both COVID-19 as well as for dengue.

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

The ongoing health scare has forced the Babar Azam-led side to reschedule some of their training sessions.

The Men in Green, who suffered a seven-wicket thrashing at the hands of arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad on Sunday, face Australia at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

Read | Men in Blue stretch unbeaten record and more stats from IND-PAK clash

They had arrived in Bengaluru on Sunday, a day after their defeat in Ahmedabad, and celebrated skipper Babar Azam’s birthday in the team hotel.

Dinner time vibes for the Pakistan team in Bengaluru 🥘#CWC23 | #DattKePakistani pic.twitter.com/7WBhKbb89k

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 16, 2023

Pakistan had earlier defeated Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their first two matches, which took place at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. They ended up pulling off a record chase in their five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.

Australia, on the other hand, collected their first points of the tournament with a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Monday in Lucknow, chasing down a modest target of 210.

The five-time world champions had begun their campaign on a disappointing note with back-to-back defeats — a six-wicket loss against India in Chennai followed by a 134-run hammering at the hands of South Africa in Lucknow.