Brian Lara diagnosed with hepatitis
Dilip Ganguly, Associated Press, Colombo
West Indies star batsman Brian Lara is suffering from hepatitis and will need two weeks of bed rest plus four weeks of recuperating time, hospital officials said on Wednesday.
Lara, one of the top batsmen in world cricket, was admitted to hospital in Colombo after smashing his 15th limited-over century in the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 match against Kenya on Tuesday.
Pathologists and physicians ran several tests on Lara overnight Tuesday night and confirmation that he is suffering from hepatitis came Wednesday morning, said the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Lara is most likely to miss a tour of India that starts from Oct. 9 when the West Indies will play three tests and seven one- day internationals.
Other than being weak, Lara is showing no other discomfort, said the officials.
West Indies' team manager Ricky Skerritt has been informed by the hospital about Lara's condition - that Lara should stay in the hospital or have bed rest for at least two weeks and then can fly home if there are no resulting complications.
Lara was not feeling well before the match, but went on to score 111 runs off 120 deliveries.
"Brian has been feeling below par for a couple of days, but was well enough to take part in the game against Kenya," Skerritt said.
Lara rode his luck as he struck form after a lean patch, finishing with two massive sixes and eight boundaries.
He benefited from being ruled not out by the third umpire on a caught-behind appeal, when television replays showed a clear deviation from his blade into wicketkeeper David Obuya's gloves when he was on 32.
Off-spinner Collins Otieno was denied Lara's wicket by third umpire Asoka de Silva, despite the International Cricket Council increasing the role of television umpires for this tournament.
Otieno was again denied Lara's wicket when Tony Suji at long- on put down an easy catch. Lara was then on 61.
Lara has scored 7,572 runs in 90 tests with 18 centuries. He has 7,549 runs in 203 one-day internationals with 15 hundreds.