Captain of the Pakistan cricket team for the blind Zeeshan Abbasi, 30, was admitted to the M.S. Ramaiah Hospital here on Saturday morning after he consumed ‘diluted soap solution’ kept on the breakfast table mistaking it for drinking water.
The partially blind cricketer was discharged in the evening after an endoscopy showed he was normal.
The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC), in a release, said it accepted the apology tendered by Moevenpick Hotel and Spa, where the team is staying. “The administration of PBCC, in the better interest of cricket and to fasten the relationship between the two countries, accepted the apology of the hotel administration.” Pakistani manager Bilal Satti said the team considered that the “matter is resolved.”
Earlier, a controversy arose after a statement by the team management that Mr. Abbasi was “served cleaning acid,” sparked apprehensions that the team, which had thumped India by eight wickets the previous day, was targeted by miscreants.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Satti had said: “We arrived at 7 a.m. for breakfast in the hotel – these water bottles were the brand we have been using throughout our visit. It appears that there was some cleaning acid in the bottle. It so happened that the captain drank it. He spat out the liquid when he realised that it was not water.”
Due to play against Bangladesh in a league match on Saturday as part of the ongoing T20 World Cup for the Blind, Mr. Abbasi proceeded to the venue with the rest of the team. However, he complained of soreness in the throat and the team management rushed him to hospital.
Naresh Shetty, president of the hospital, said the liquid “was not acid” as it was initially feared by the team management. The hospital in a statement said the solution could be either diluted phenyl or soapwater.
The management apologised for the incident and said the liquid was soap detergent meant to clean windowpanes. The hotel said the diluted soap solution bottle was erroneously left on the table by the banquet team member and his services, along with that of his supervisor, were terminated.
Mr. Abbasi said his health was fine and he was looking forward to leading Pakistan in its remaining matches.
