Pakistan batting coach Matthew Hayden revealed at the halfway stage of Pakistan and Australia’s semi-final that Mohammad Rizwan had been in hospital the night before the encounter between the two sides.

“Mohammad Rizwan was in hospital a night ago suffering with some sort of lung condition”, said Hayden after Rizwan had compiled 67 off 52 balls opening the batting for Pakistan. “This is a warrior. He’s been brilliant through the campaign and he has great courage.”

It had been reported by ESPN Cricinfo the day before the match that both Rizwan and Shoaib Malik had missed Pakistan’s training session on Wednesday with “mild flu”.

Both players tested negative for Covid-19 after waking up on Wednesday with what was described as “light flu and low fever” and were initially advised to delay training before it being decided that they should miss the session altogether. Pakistan were reported to have not been overly concerned about the potential risk that either player may miss today’s fixture, but it is only after Hayden’s comments on television today that it became clear how ill Rizwan had been.

Rizwan has been a vital component of Pakistan’s competition having scored three half-centuries in six innings at an average of 71.33. His 67 off 52 deliveries against Australia helped his side to a total of 176-4 off their 20 overs.

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