Pakistan batsman Haider Ali in hospital with illness

Pakistan batsman Haider Ali was taken to hospital because of a viral illness during the Twenty20 against England on Friday.

Ali is the second Pakistan T20 World Cup player admitted to hospital during the series after fast bowler Naseem Shah, who also fell ill.

Ali scored 18 runs off 14 balls during the sixth T20 in Lahore but the middle-order batter felt dizziness in the dressing room and was substituted. Pakistan lost the match as the visitors levelled the series 3-3.

Ali has had a below-par series, scoring 11, 3, 4 and 18.

Paceman Shah spent two nights in a local hospital at Lahore because of pneumonia. He was ruled out of the remaining two T20s of the seven-match series after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Shah will isolate for two days, and the Pakistan Cricket Board said he will fly out to New Zealand with the team on Monday for a triangular T20 series also featuring Bangladesh, a prelude to the T20 World Cup in Australia.

England's Phil Salt guided the visitors to victory in the sixth T20 against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday, September 30, 2022. EPA