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KARACHI: The captain of Pakistan’s blind cricket team, who was shifted to a hospital in critical condition after he drank acid from a bottle which was supposed to contain water, was treated and released from the hospital, Express News reported Saturday.
The Indian media, however, has alleged that the Pakistani captain consumed detergent water, not acid and accused Pakistani media of blowing the issue out of proportion.
Captain Zeeshan Abbasi – who is leading the country in the Blind Twenty 20 series underway in Banglore – consumed the hazardous substance from a bottle on his table.
“The mineral water bottles were given to us everyday; the acid was in one of those bottles,” said the team manager.
The manager said that since the entire team is blind, they did not know that there was acid inside the bottle instead of water.
“How can this be a mistake? How was it on the breakfast table?” he enquired.
Chairman Blind Cricket Council Sultan Shah – speaking to Express News – was shocked by the incident and said that such a thing had never happened before.
Just yesterday, Abbasi led the team to its fourth consecutive win in the tournament, and that too against India. Pakistan beat India by eight wickets.
Why the acid was placed on his table or who put it there is under investigation, said the chairman.
Abbasi was shifted to a hospital where he is under treatment he confirmed, adding that they had an argument with the hotel management over the incident.
The hotel management has assured the chairman that they will check through CCTV footage and find the reason behind the incident.
The PBCC has accepted an apology by the hotel administration and has decided to continue playing in the tournament.
One man’s mistake not to damage ties
Meanwhile, Pakistan cricket board chairman Zaka Ashraf told reporters in Lahore that Abbasi has been released from hospital after treatment. He added that the Pakistan-India cricket series scheduled for late December will not be affected by this incident.
Ashraf said that initial information about the substance ingested was misreported, and that it was infact washing liquid, and not acid. He added that the hotel management has suspended the erring server.
The Pakistan high commissioner in Delhi has also spoken to the concerned ministry over the incident. The mistake of one man will not affect Pakistan-India relations, nor affect the upcoming bilateral series.
Another News Source :
Bangalore: A partially visually impaired Pakistani cricket player on Saturday accidentally drank diluted phenol in his hotel mistaking it to be mineral water and was hospitalised, official sources said.
Zeshan Abbasi (28), here to play World Cup Cricket for the Blind, took a sip of the contents of a plastic bottle that was kept on the table, mistaking it to be mineral water while having breakfast, sources said.
Immediately after learning about the incident, the organisers of the tourney rushed Abbasi to the private multi-speciality MS Ramaiah Hospital, where he is being treated and kept under observation.
"Abbasi is fine", Organising Secretary of the Cricket Association for the Blind, Bangalore, Mahantesh told PTI.
"Abbasi underwent endoscopy as we wanted to rule out any complication and also subjected to certain tests. All reports are normal. He has been shifted to the ward and is fine. He will be kept in observation for about two hours, after which he will be discharged", Dr Shetty, President, M S Ramaiah Hospital, said.
S P Nagesh, President of the All India Cricket Association for the Blind, said "though the hotel management has tendered a written apology to us, we have asked them to investigate the matter and tell us how such a lapse occurred. We are awaiting their reply".
Sultan Shah, Manager of the Pakistan team, said "such an incident that has occurred accidentally should not and will not become an impediment in Indo-Pak cricket relations. We have a very good understanding with the team here and the tournament is being played in a very good atmosphere".
"However, what we want to know from the hotel management who have orally apologised to us, is how such an incident happened and who is responsible for such negligence. It has to be ensured that such incidents do not recur. Otherwise, we are happy with the arrangements here and are focused on the game", he said.