Ahead of their ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh, the Pakistan cricket team decided to tickle their tastebuds with kebabs, biryani and chaap from famous the Zam Zam Restaurant in West Bengal's Kolkata. An order was made through an online food delivery platform on Sunday after the team decided to skip the hotel dinner. Babar Azam and his team skipped their dinner at the hotel and instead ordered food from the famous restaurant in the city.
Initially, the restaurant was not aware that the order was placed by the Pakistan team, but got to know about it later on, Shadman Faize the Director of the Zam Zam Restaurant told ANI. He said that Kolkata has its style of biryani which is famous all over the world.
"The order came through an online food delivery platform. They ordered three dishes which were biryani, kebabs, and chaap. They ordered it on Sunday evening after 7 PM. Initially, we had no idea that the order was from the Pakistan cricket team but later we got to know it. I hope they liked the food. People from every nationality should come and try our food. Kolkata has its style of biryani which is very famous all over the world," Faize said.
While the team decided to indulge in some mouthwatering delicacies from Kolkata, there have been some harsh criticisms by the iconic pacer and former skipper Wasim Akram over the team's dietary habits. Akram had lambasted the team for their lethargic presence in the field following their loss to Afghanistan. During an interview, Akram commented that the team has been eating kilos of meat every day.
"Just look at the fitness levels of our players. We have been screaming here for the past three weeks that they haven't been through fitness tests in the last two years. Now should I name them individually, their faces are getting broader. Lagta hai roz 8 kilo nihari khate hain (Seems like they are eating 8 kilos of meat every day). There should be some test, you are being paid for playing for your country and there has to be a certain criterion," Akram was reported as saying during a post-match show on Pakistan-based A Sports channel.
The Pakistan team is in Kolkata for their 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh, which will be played at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, October 31. The team is virtually ruled out of making further progress in the World Cup and is currently at the seventh position in the points table with four losses and one win.