Follow UsThe third and final unofficial ODI between India ‘A’ and Australia ‘A’ is taking place in Kanpur today, and the visitors have been tormented off the field despite putting up impressive showings on the field.
Four Australia ‘A’ players are believed to have gone down with alleged food poisoning during the 50-over matches, with speedster Henry Thornton said to have been hospitalized due to the severity of the sickness.
Doubts were immediately cast over possible food contamination at the hotel where the players are staying, however BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, on October 4 (Saturday), rubbished the possibility of potential food contamination and poisoning as the players are being provided food from ‘one of the finest hotels’.
Shukla further added that, had there been contamination, then all players - not just four - would have fallen sick.
“If there had been an issue with the food, all players, including the Indian players, would have fallen sick. It must have been something else,” Shukla said, reported The Statesman.
“They are being fed food from one of the finest hotels, Hotel Landmark; the food is good, and everyone is eating the same. Since a few players have fallen ill, they may have contracted an infection, and we are handling it.”
“The issue arises because there aren’t many hotels. We need 300 rooms in a five-star hotel, and that’s not available. There is no international airport in the area that operates 24/7. Had better arrangements been in place, they would have gained an advantage.”
When questioned why such issues tend to occur in domestic matches and not during the IPL, Shukla said: “In the case of the IPL, everything depends on the franchises. They decide where the players stay, and it’s entirely their choice, as the BCCI does not have any role in the decision-making. They choose a hotel of their preference.”
The unofficial ODI series is level at 1-1 as Australia ‘A’ won the second ODI comprehensively after losing the first. Earlier, India ‘A’ won the two-match unofficial Test series 1-0 thanks to an unbeaten 176* from KL Rahul which helped them complete a record chase of 412.