Blind cricket captain Zeeshand Abbasi pronounced fit to play

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.

Sultan Shah, manager of the Pakistan team, called the event an accident and said it "will not become an impediment in Indo-Pak cricket relations".

According to the press release issued by Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, the Movenpick Hotel Bangalore investigated the matter and concluded that “The bottle with diluted soap solution was erroneously left on the table by the banquet team member and we have terminated him and his supervisor with immediate effect.”

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. New Delhi blamed elements of the Pakistani state over the attacks.

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.