RAWALPINDI: Former England Test skipper Joe Root ruled out the possibility of his teammates becoming ill as a result of food poisoning ahead of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on December 1. 

On Tuesday, some of the England players including captain Ben Stokes, reportedly, have fallen ill and were told to restrict their movement to limit the risk of spreading the virus. An ECB spokesperson, however, confirmed that the illnesses were not Covid-19 related, with players experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday at Pindi Cricket Stadium after the team’s final training session before the first Test, Root insisted that there was nothing to be blamed on their team chef as the players’ illness was not related to the food.

“It is unfortunate we are in this situation, but we don’t think it is food-related,” he said. “I don’t think there is any correlation between the two and in fact the chef is ill as well, so I don’t think it is the food.”

England’s team brought their own chef, Omar Meziane, in order to take care of the players’ diet during the historic Test tour of Pakistan.

“The thing is we have been carrying a chef away for a couple of years. If you look at the international teams, especially England, they all have their own chefs. We optimise ourselves and we see it from a nutrition point of view as well,” he said, responding to the reporter’s question.

Moreover, Root denied any possibility of picking up corona virus, claiming that he also felt ill but recovered within a day.

“As far as I’m aware there are a few guys not feeling 100 per cent but – I didn’t feel great yesterday but I woke up better today – so hopefully it’s just a 24-hour virus and I don’t think it’s food poisoning or Covid or anything like that,” he added.

When asked about the player’s readiness for tomorrow’s match, Root said: “It’s hard to say, I’ve not seen anyone this morning, we’ve literally got straight on the bus so the guys will do everything we can to be right in that aspect, so time will tell really.”

“We’ve prepared really well for this game and sometimes life throws things at you but we’ll do everything we can to be right tomorrow and be right and ready to go,” he added.

Pakistan Cricket Board, however, confirmed in a tweet that discussions were underway between the ECB and PCB regarding the commencement of the first Test after some England players reported viral infection.

England and Pakistan will contest a three-match Test series with the second scheduled in Multan beginning on December 9 and the final game in Karachi from December 17-21.

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