We’ll do everything we can to be right in these series and ready to go – Joe Root

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Joe Root says It is unfortunate we are in this situation, but we don't think it is food-related and I don't think there is any correlation between the two and the chef is ill as well, so I don't think it is the food

The first Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi could be postponed by a day have been doing the rounds after a spate of illness to the visiting players, Joe Root didn’t give out a lot of on the ongoing circumstances of the players.

The first Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi could be postponed by a day have been doing the rounds after a spate of illness to the visiting players, Joe Root didn’t give out a lot of on the ongoing circumstances of the players. 

He simply joked,

“There’s going to have to be Marcus Trescothick, Rob Key, and Brendon McCullum as the new top three for tomorrow.”

Root himself was unwell on Tuesday night, however, recovered to join a couple of his partners in the nets on Wednesday (November 30), and expectations the condition isn’t to more terrible for his other team members either.

To the extent that I’m aware there are a few guys not feeling 100 percent but – I didn’t feel extraordinary yesterday but I awakened better today – so ideally it’s simply a 24-hour virus and I don’t believe its food poisoning or Covid or anything like that.

“I think it’s just one of those things that we’ve unfortunately picked up as a group – we’ve tried to do absolutely everything, we’ve prepared 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.”

“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It is horrible,”

he said.

“Running on and off the field all the time. But sometimes it is part and parcel of where you are as a team. That was very unfortunate because a lot of us got ill during the Test match, not going into the game. But hopefully, it is not something we have to contend with, and everyone will turn up well tomorrow and we can enjoy what is an exciting series and have cricket as a talking point.”

He rejected the possibility of the current bug that the players are down within Islamabad having any relation to food, and added,

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

“The thing is we have been trying to bring a chef away with us for a couple of years now. This is the first opportunity we have had to do it. Look at all the other international sporting teams around, even Premier League and Championship teams have their chef, so we think from a nutrition and performance side of things, we are trying to do everything we can to optimize ourselves and be in the right position to perform.”

Root didn’t divulge many details on what the team management is planning in case the players don’t recover on time – in terms of possible replacements and even the likelihood of him captaining the side again in the absence of Ben Stokes.

“Ollie Pope did it the other day and he’d do a great job, so we’ll see. Hopefully, it isn’t a conversation we need to have.

“It is frustrating. Today is generally an optional session anyway, so a few of the guys wouldn’t have come in anyway. There is not much you can do, other than try to do the right things and hydrate yourself and do the things away from the game that will serve you well overnight in preparation for tomorrow.

“It is where we are at as a team. Sometimes this happens, and when we’re all tight together in the same hotel, then it can spread around. We’ve done what we can to try and mitigate that, and we’ll see how we shape up tomorrow. It is part and parcel of being on tour. Sometimes these things get thrown at you and that is why you have 15 guys here, so in case of injury or illness you are ready to go.”

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