5 times a stretcher was brought on the field to carry an injured cricket player ft. Ahmed Shehzad
Injuries are part and parcel of cricket. Since the game demands physical fitness and stamina, it is not uncommon to see any player getting injured on the field. At times, the injuries have been so severe that the players had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship match between Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Zakir Hasan was taken off the field on a stretcher after being hit by a ball.
This was not the first instance of a cricketer being taken off the field on a stretcher. Here are five other instances.
#1 Ahmed Shehzad, Pakistan
Pakistan star Ahmed Shehzad was an all-format player for the Men in Green in the early 2010s. During a bilateral T20I match against West Indies in 2017, Shehzad suffered a horrific neck injury after a collision with Caribbean batter Chadwick Walton.
Interestingly though, Shehzad came out to field just a few minutes after being injured. Sharing the details of that incident, his teammate Wahab Riaz said in an interview:
"Shahzad was hurt. He had fallen. Then he thought to see the batsman, he saw the batsman and then lay down. The match was halted for 5-10 minutes. An ambulance arrived inside the ground. They put him on a stretcher. He came back after 10-15 minutes."
"After coming back, he started saying something to Samuels. Samuels said that I have seen such a person before who went out on an ambulance and came back in 10-15 minutes," he added.
#2 Phil Hughes, Australia
Phil Hughes' death shocked the cricket fans. Playing for South Australia in a domestic match against New South Wales in November 2014, Hughes got hit on his neck by a bouncer from Sean Abbott.
Hughes looked in discomfort and soon fell on the ground unconscious. He was taken off the field by a stretcher. Unfortunately, he died because of the injury.
#3 Hardik Pandya, India
Hardik Pandya hurt his back while playing for India in an Asia Cup match against Pakistan during the 2018 edition of the continental event. He had to be taken off the field on a stretcher because of his back injury.
While Hardik continued to play for India and Mumbai Indians after recovery, he had to undergo surgery due to persistent back issues. He could not bowl much in 2020 and 2021 due to his back problem. He took a lengthy break from cricket in the 2021/22 season but came back as a more mature all-rounder after.
#4 Achini Kulasuriya, Sri Lanka Women
Sri Lanka women's cricket team seamer Achini Kulasuriya had to be taken off the field on a stretcher during her nation's T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa in Adelaide in 2020.
She got hit on the top of her skull after she misjudged a catch Chloe Tryon near the long-off boundary. She remained motionless for a few minutes, and the ambulance arrived in the middle. Luckily, Achini's injury was not serious.
#5 Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka
Another Sri Lankan player who was stretchered off the field in Australia was Dimuth Karunaratne. It happened during a Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Canberra in February 2019.
A short ball from Pat Cummins hit Karunaratne near his neck area. He dropped his bat and fell on the ground as the Australian players rushed to him. A doctor and a physio arrived in the middle as well. Ten minutes later, a golf buggy took him off the field on a stretcher.