The BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla has come out with an official statement on the so-called food poisoning of Australia A players. According to him, if there really had been anything wrong with the food at the hotel, Indian players would have been sick too. He went on to say that maybe the four cricketers caught the infection from somewhere else.
It happened just before the second unofficial ODI between India A and Australia A. Australian medium-pacer Henry Thornton was admitted to the Regency Hospital when his condition deteriorated but got stabilised later.
Though this health scare brought into the limelight the issues concerning food and accommodation standards, Shukla dismissed these concerns and stressed that the food was from a reputable source.
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Speaking to the media, Shukla explained that if there had been an issue with the food, all players, including the Indian players, would have fallen sick. He suggested that it must have been something else. He further commented that they are being fed food from one of the finest hotels, Hotel Landmark, the food is good, and everyone is eating the same”.
Kanpur, UP: During the IND A vs AUS A match, some Australian players fell ill. The Food Department has collected samples of several food items from the Landmark Hotel for testing
— IANS (@ians_india) October 5, 2025
Congress MP Rajeev Shukla says, "If there was anything wrong with the food, all India-Australia… pic.twitter.com/NLVeAC4rFh
Shukla said that the infection might have originated from some other place. Some players had fallen ill. Idhar udhar se koi infection aa gaya hoga (They may have contracted an infection) and we are handling it. The issue arises because there are not many hotels”.
Despite all the off-field drama, India A, under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, prevailed in the unofficial three-match ODI series by 2-1, winning by two wickets in the third and final match at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, on Sunday.
Prabhsimran Singh played an outstanding knock of 102 off 68 balls while Riyan Parag (62 off 55 balls) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (62 off 58 balls) also chipped in beautifully. Chasing 318, India A reached the target with 24 overs to spare.
Vipraj Nigam and Arshdeep Singh remained unbeaten on 24 and 7 respectively to take the team home. India A had won the 1st ODI earlier, with Australia A then bouncing back to take the 2nd.
