Reports stated that 1st Test in Rawalpindi might be postponed by 24 hours to give England players time to recover
On Wednesday, the ECB revealed that a stomach bug had caused 13 to 14 members of staff - including half the 16-man playing squad- including captain Ben Stokes and pacer James Anderson to fall ill.
The outbreak has taken place at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, where both England and Pakistan have been staying along with members of the UK media. ECB also confirmed that affected players experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
Joe Root spoke to the media on Wednesday and revealed that discussions were underway about the first Test match at Rawalpindi being postponed for 24 hours as the spokesperson confirmed that play would not have got underway in the current circumstances as the stomach bug takes 24 hours to pass.
To be noted, the England team has visited Pakistan with their own chef in Omar Meziane, who worked with the England men’s football team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and at Euro 2020. Several England players had fallen ill due to subpar food during their T20I series visit in September which England won 4-3.
However, after the news of the stomach bug broke out, former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez took to Twitter and took an ugly jibe at the England cricketer’s immunity while wishing them a speedy recovery. He also commented on them bringing their chef along with them.
Hafeez tweeted: “Tou Masla chef ka nahee low #immunity ka hai. Wishing speedy recovery to all players @ECB_cricket”
This led to several reactions from Twitterati, who made fun of England players along with Hafeez, but there were many who lambasted Hafeez for taking an unnecessary jibe at their immunity while they are guests in Pakistan.
Here are some of the tweets: