More than a dozen members of the English cricket team is down with virus on the eve of their first test match against Pakistan on December 1. Those affected include England captain Ben Stokes, along with 13 other members of the touring English side.
The players affected by the bug remained at the team hotel in Islamabad, and skipped the training session at the Rawalpindi Stadium due to a feeling of sickness and dysentery a day before England’s historic test in Pakistan after 17 years.
Oozing confidence, Stokes had earlier on Tuesday revealed his playing XI for the upcoming test match, handing a debut to Liam Livingstone, who was among those who missed an optional training session today. The medical staff is wishing it to be a 24 hour bug but if the Test had been scheduled on Wednesday, England would have floundered to field a team.
Notably, the bug hit the English cricket team despite them bringing their own chef on tour to avoid picking up sickness many players felt during the T20 series in September. Though the illness is not thought to have been affected by food.
In late 2019 too, England team were similarly affected by a bug ahead of their first test of a tour to South Africa and lost the match, with many players struggling to get through the game.
Nevertheless, the bug attack has cast a pal over the England tour of Pakistan, which is taking place after 17 years due to volatile security situation in Pakistan. The 2009 terror attack against touring Sri Lankan team, injuring many players including Kumar Sangakkara, had been a nail in the coffin for Pakistan cricket, with many nations refraining to tour the country where terror attacks had become a frequent occurrence.
Significantly, terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan earlier this week announced the end of ceasefire with the Pakistani government and ordered nationwide attacks, raising fear among Pakistani cricket fans of yet another decade without international cricket.