Pakistan blind cricket captain “accidentally consumed phenyl”
Zeeshan Abbasi. -Photo courtesy PBCC
BANGALORE: The captain of Pakistan’s blind cricket team, Zeeshan Abbasi, needed hospital treatment on Saturday after drinking cleaning fluid that he mistook for mineral water at his hotel in India.
Doctors examined Abbasi, a fast bowler who is leading Pakistan’s team in the Blind World Twenty-20 World Cup Cricket Tournament in the southern city of Bangalore, and pronounced him fit to play.
“The cricketer accidentally consumed phenyl” from a plastic bottle at his hotel in the city, doctor Naresh Shetty told AFP. “He mistook the phenyl bottle for a water bottle.”
Phenyl is a fluid widely used to clean and disinfect bathrooms and public spaces.
“We examined him and have administered some medicines. Abbasi is totally fit to play and has been discharged from the hospital,” Shetty said.
The 28-year-old, who made his international debut in 2000, drank the cleaning fluid, which was diluted with water, during breakfast, local media reports said.
The doctor added that police were questioning housekeeping staff about how the incident had occurred and that the hotel had apologised to the player.
Chairman Blind Cricket Council Sultan Shah called the event an accident and said it “will not become an impediment in Indo-Pak cricket relations”.
“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,” Shah said, according to the Press Trust of India.
Pakistan’s blind team defeated India on Friday by eight wickets in the Twenty-20 tournament.
The incident comes as India and Pakistan are gearing up to play their first cricket series since ties were broken after the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
India is to host Pakistan for two T20 internationals and three 50 over matches from December 25, beginning in Bangalore. Matches will also be held in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and the last game will be played in New Delhi on January 6.
strange things happen to Pak cricketers, bob woolmer murder was one extreme and firing on bus carrying cricketers in Pak is another, all kinds of controversies are possible from thousands go missing wo come to watch cricket and this drinking phenyl again surprises me. Should PAK have a cricket team at all?
Very weak argument. By that measure, should Indians have a country at all?
Its time for the Captain and Team manager to apologize to the Indians for their mistake immediately.
i quite agree it would be a nice gesture for the Indian captain and the Indian manager to apologize to their nation and may i add to the Pakistani nation as well.
For What?
It sure sounds like it was the FAULT of the semi blind Pakistani captain. Come on Jinnah’s newspaper, you can do better. If this would have happened in Pakistan to any Indian players , I am ready to bet my life that the heading would have been different.
Pakistan cricket Team manager Bilal Satti should take the held responsible for this incident he didn’t look after his blind cricketers.
I think Pakistanis are making fuss out of these small incidents why occurred by accident of their own(Team manager) negligence,its time for India to ban Pakistan from coming and playing in our country and creating high drama,we don’t need such people.
I find it hard to believe that this was just accidental. I have never found phenyl hanging around at random places/hotels..?? This whole story is a bit strange. Phenyl does not smell like anything else that one comes across everyday. Did Mr Abbasi not find the smell of the drink a bit unusual??
I think dude thought it was whiskey. Phenyl has enough smell to warn a blind guy.
I believe it is a negligence by somebody, but a very dangerous one indeed. Official apology should be expected. God forbid if this would have happened in Pakistan, everybody would blame it on Taliban.
This new article, with a LOT of missing details is fertile ground for the conspiracy theorists of Pakistan to go wild. I almost fell off my chair reading a couple of comments which actually say that the incident was deliberate because the Indian team lost a cricket match to Pakistan in a tournament for the blind!!!
1. The bottle contained diluted soap, not acid.
2. The cricketer was discharged from a local hospital with the medical staff saying that he was not in any danger at any point of time.
3. The team was not scheduled to have breakfast on the terrace where this incident occured. The housekeeping staff was still cleaning the area.
4. The hotel has apologized. The concerned staff-member has apologized.
5. The media has had a field day.
6. Sorry to say, but gullible Pakistani citizens are being taken for a ride by conspiracy theorists who are having a field day too…after all it is their favorite pasttime. I won’t be surrpised if Zaid Hamid dedicates his next show to this incident, and ties it to CIA, RAW, Mossad, Bin Laden’s killing and Obama’s election.
Pakistanis need to live in the real world.
When a bind person accidentally drinks from a carelessly left over table-cleaning detergent, and taken to hospital and sent back after symptomatic treatment by doctors without hospitalization – the incident is high lighted as purposeful acid feeding.
The reactions clearly shows the India Pakistan cricket is not yet ready for resumption. Mishaps can happen again would only deteriorate the fragile tempers.Let us wait till mature relationship is possible.
An attempt to build bridges should not result in bitter bridge burning.
I am an indian and I dont want pakistani players playing on our soil.We are against any cricket series with pakistan.
My indian brothers ,there is no need to apologise.This is all pakistani drama to blame india.
Classical Indian response. No remorse, straight on the offensive.
I am a Bangalorean and I can say that it was purely accident as I myself spoke to people related to Hotel as they live near my house ,but surprised by some of the immature comments from pakistanis saying that human rights ,taking back their team or nit not to send cricket team …
Really sorry for what happened. We (India) should have taken care of our guests better. Thank God the cricketer is OK now. I cannot imagine the consequences if something had happened to him. This brings another question to mind. When there is so much mistrsust amongst us, should we really be palying cricket with each other?
Thank you Jinnah.
Welcome any time
Indians never accept Pakistan or our way of life. We should not beg them like PCB does. Where is our self respect?
what has been done to catch the Culprit. is indian Govt going to do anything at all? nothing am sure
Phenyl is not acid (as mentioned in some comments) but disinfectant liquid used for cleaning purpose. Though, being an Indian this incident is very embarrassing, specially if it happened to any foreign guest. But, we should take it as accident only. Please do not try to search conspiracy theory angle into this. Even though India-Pakistan relation is in bad shape but in India, we consider “guest as GOD”. Though if is happened due to negligence of any person, he/she should be punished no matter what.
looks like an act of a jealous person having grudge against Pakistani side. The matter should be investigated into, and he person(s) found guilty should be tried in the court of law and punished. This unfortunate incident should not affect the growing relations between the two great neighbors.
its horrible that a five star hotel staff did this mistake.
This is shame and remorse, on media also who is says “accidentally “. In a hotel things like this can’t be “Accidentally”. Very much regret on Pakistani media and government. They should protest and order inquiry. Definitely it is intentionally. Just think if same thing happen in pakistan with indian player, what will happen?
I have heard that blind people have high senses. I can’t drink anything that smells different even if it looks water. How come this guy couldn’t even taste and spit it? I don’t buy into the story of this cricketer.
It is not appropriate to blame India for an act by an individual. I am amazed how easily we blame to whole country for the crime of one while at the same time telling the world not to think of all Pakistanis as Talibans.
If this would be case with an Indian player in Pakistan then the whole Indian team would have terminated the trip and their media lashing out the whole Pakistan. I think Pakistan should take this matter seriously and ask team to come back.
It is easy to blame an entire country for such an incident when that country blames Pakistan for every incident on its own soil. As for well off Pakistani “intelligentsia” (or rather wanna be intelligentsia) which keeps apologizing for any incident that is blamed on Pakistan and opposes any complaints by ordinary Pakistanis about attacks on Pakistanis, its hard to take them seriously.
We are an emotionally driven people, no doubt about that but the thing to ponder upon is that if this thing happened in Pakistan, there would have been an ICC investigation, threats to cancel tours and lot of bashing aimed towards us.
Go to India and logic with them, then write your experience.
This was possibly an attempt on the life of a player. How come such dangerous disinfectant was kept in a place where it was thought to be water? Blaming a whole country is a habit of India as was done after Ajmal Kasab incident
PCB should not send Pakistani cricket team to india…
I fully agree.You guys must not come to India.
We just don’t like you-plain & simple
and the feeling is mutual
No Sana ,It is not appropriate.We r really ashamed of the event and apologize for that.
I endorse your view. Pakistan should never visit India.
- An Indian.
The outraged comments of the semi-literate people of Pakistan are quite comical; particularly as this is the same country that tried to blow up the Sri Lankan cricket team during their visit to Pakistan in 2009.
I was wondering when someone would bring that up. I’m glad you got that off your chest.