Cricket is considered more of a religion than a sport in India, because of the fact that some Indian players have given so much to the sport that people have regarded it as ‘More than just a sport’. Normally a player can be fully fit but isn’t able to score those valuable runs or pick those wickets for his side let alone contributing to the Team’s success. But there have been instances where players after severely injuring themselves have gone on to put up some of the best performances in Indian history to help the side secure a win or a draw.
The likes of Kedar Jadhav, Shikhar Dhawan have battled out all the pain in them to actually help India secure a win in the most dreadful circumstances putting their career on the line. The grit and determination these players show is what makes their knock even more special for the fans. Today we take a look at five such Indian players, who played on despite suffering a major injury during a match.
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Let’s take a look at 5 Indian Players who battled through injuries to save the game for India:
1. Anil Kumble
Former India captain Anil Kumble once copped a blow by a Merv Dillon right on his jaw while batting against West Indies in 1992 at Antigua. As soon as Kumble got hit on the jaw, he spat out blood but then went on to bat for further 20 minutes for the team.
Later when it was India’s time to bowl after declaring at 513/9, Kumble walked out to bowl with a heavy bandage wrapped around his jaw, the grit and determination to turn up for the nation was pretty much evident in Kumble’s action the other day. After which Kumble went on to bowl 14 overs wherein he picked the priced wicket of Brian Lara
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2. Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav rose to fame when he played a few match-winning innings against England in 2018 post which his performance hasn’t been up to the mark, there is a talk that’s going around that Kedar Jadhav after the disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign, might have played his last match for India.
But did you know once Kedar Jadhav batted with injuries to steer India through to a win during the 2018 Asia Cup? The match was being played at Dubai against Bangladesh in a low scoring thriller, during which Kedar seemed to have pulled his hamstring but despite that, he continued to bat scoring an unbeaten 23 to help India register a win against Bangladesh.
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3. Shikhar Dhawan
When we talk about Shikhar Dhawan, the one thing that comes to our mind is his impeccable ICC tournaments record. Ever since first appearing in the 2013 Champions Trophy to the 2019 World Cup, Shikhar has scored runs in every game. In all this, there was one instance when Shikhar Dhawan copped a blow right on his finger off the pace bowlers of Australia during the 2019 World Cup match against Australia at the Oval in London.
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But despite the pain, Dhawan continued to bat and further went on to score a colossal 117 to steer India to a total of 353/5 at the end of 50 overs. The target was more than enough for the Indian side as they beat Australia by 36 runs but what later hurt India was Dhawan being ruled out after the following match as reports showed that he had fractured his finger. After Dhawan was ruled out, it was KL Rahul who replaced him at the top of the order.
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4. Hanuma Vihari
Over the years, Hanuma Vihari has been that one batsman who has been consistently scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy for his stateside. Vihari’s defensive technique is what makes him a perfect fit in the Indian line up for the 6th Batsman’s role. But despite being a prolific run-getter in the domestic competitions, Vihari often failed to get the big score on a consistent basis while turning up for the Indian side.
During the 2020-21 India’s tour of Australia, Hanuma Vihari was backed to bat at 6 by the Indian team management but as first two tests completed and Vihari without a single big score, his place in the side was in jeopardy. That is when In the most dreadful times with injuries surrounding the Indian Team like a magnet, it was Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin who batted their hearts out for almost four hours to draw the third Test of the 2020-21 Border – Gavaskar Trophy At the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Vihari arrived at the crease when India had lost Rishabh Pant after playing one of the best knocks by an Indian in Australia. But just after a couple of overs, Vihari pulled his hamstring while attempting a run, which restricted him from taking those singles but Vihari being Vihari decided to stay on and bat. The result was even more astonishing as despite pulling his hamstring which was apparently a grade two tear, he batted for close to 4 hours facing 161 deliveries and scoring 23 runs which ultimately helped India secure a draw at the SCG.
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5. MS Dhoni
During the 2016 Zimbabwe tour, MS Dhoni leading a young Indian side suffered a blow to his eye while batting in the third T20i against Zimbabwe. It all happened when Dhoni when trying to clear the fence against the bowling of Donald Tripano, couldn’t connect it properly which led to him playing it on to the stumps. What happened next was the bails slit off and struck Dhoni’s eye.
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Even though Dhoni suffered an injury to his eye he continued to play in the match. Later that evening Dhoni went on to share a picture of his injury saying
“That’s what happens when u get hit by bails, lucky only had to keep wickets with blurred vision and pain”
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