Young Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was hit on the neck while playing in a Duleep Trophy game in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Indian cricketer was representing the Central Zone in the tournament when the incident occurred. He was later discharged from the hospital after the scans. The tense moments occurred at SNR College Cricket Ground on Friday noon. Central Zone was taking on West Zone in the five-day game.
Venkatesh Iyer is down in pain after being hit by a wild throw form bowler Chintan Gaja on his follow through on the second day of the #DuleepTrophy semifinal in #Coimbatore on Friday. Photos: @peri_periasamy @sportstarweb @TheHinduSports @BCCI pic.twitter.com/eM6oXBKo6V
— Periasamy M (@peri_periasamy) September 16, 2022
The youngster got hit on the neck as the bowler Chintan Guja threw it back onto the stumps. A pained Iyer immediately collapsed to the ground. Meanwhile, a doctor on duty rushed to the field in an ambulance to treat Iyer. The KKR cricketer recovered after some time. However, he left the field and retired hurt.
“He is fine and back in the team hotel. I have spoken to him and he looks quite ok now,” an official of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) told CricBuzz.
Venkatesh Iyer comes to bat again
The all-rounder did not feel dizzy and looked fine after the blow. He came out to bat again after retiring hurt. However, he was taken to a private hospital in the city after being dismissed.
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Unpleasant scene here. Venkatesh Iyer has been hit on the shoulder as Gaja throws the ball defended ball back at the batter. Venkatesh is down on the ground in pain and the ambulance arrives. #DuleepTrophy pic.twitter.com/TCvWbdgXFp
— Dhruva Prasad (@DhruvaPrasad9) September 16, 2022
The 27-year-old Indian played two ODIs and nine T20Is for India before an injured Hardik Pandya made a return to the team. A Madhya Pradesh-born cricketer, he rose to fame after his exploits for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2021 IPL, with bat and ball. As a result, he was considered as Hardik Pandya’s backup for the all-rounder slot.
An aggressive batter, Iyer scored 14 off nine balls in the Central Zone’s first innings total of 128 runs. Meanwhile, it is not clear if he will bat in the second innings, as he is kept under 24-hour observation. The young cricketer said he was doing fine. “I was hit below my ear. It was a shock initially, but I am absolutely fine,” Iyer said.
