Vijay Shankar of Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered an injury scare after he was struck on his helmet by the ball during the ongoing Indian Premier League. Nonetheless, he did not suffer any grave injury. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar feels that batsmen should wear the helmet under all circumstances.
The sport of cricket has become even more competitive, especially following the arrival of Twenty20 (T20) cricket. While the game has become fast-paced, safety precautions for the players have also become a matter of utmost priority.
The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw an incident, as Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) Vijay Shankar was struck on the helmet. It happened during their clash against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on October 24, as Shankar was taking a run, while Nicholas Pooran's throw at the stumps was missed, which hit the former.
Thankfully, the helmet saved him from suffering any serious injury. Nonetheless, he later suffered a hamstring injury.
Here's the video of the same:
Meanwhile, following the incident, Sachin Tendulkar has called for universal use of the helmet under all circumstances. Tendulkar posted a tweet on same, which read, "The game has become faster, but is it getting safer? Recently, we witnessed an incident, which could've been nasty. Be it a spinner or pacer, wearing a HELMET should be MANDATORY for batsmen at professional levels. Request @icc to take this up on priority".
The game has become faster but is it getting safer?
Recently we witnessed an incident which could’ve been nasty.
Be it a spinner or pacer, wearing a HELMET should be MANDATORY for batsmen at professional levels.
Request to take this up on priority.https://t.co/7jErL3af0m
Besides tagging the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other cricketing boards in the tweet, he sent out a separate tweet to Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, bringing one of the latter's incidents into the light. "@RaviShastriOfc, this also reminded me of the time when you got hit after top-edging a full toss, bowled by Mr Gavaskar, during an exhibition game. That could've been a grave injury too, but thankfully wasn't!" the tweet read.
., this also reminded me of the time when you got hit after top edging a full toss bowled by Mr. Gavaskar during an exhibition game. That could’ve been a grave injury too but thankfully wasn’t! 🙏🏻
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt)In reply to Tendulkar, former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha supported him, as he felt that besides the players, the umpires should also wear the helmet. "I second that paaji....when we are advancing so much in getting technology to improve cricket. Why not make helmet compulsory for wicketkeepers (standing up), batsmen, short leg-silly point fielders and both the umpires? Safety is also important!" Ojha replied on Tendulkar's tweet.
I second that paaji....when we are advancing so much in getting technology to improve cricket. Why not make Helmet compulsory for wicket keepers(standing up), batsmen, short leg-silly point fielders and both the umpires. Safety is also important!
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha)Also, former Australian pacer Brett Lee agreed to it, as he replied, "Good point mate 🙏🏻".
Good point mate 🙏🏻
— Brett Lee (@BrettLee_58)