ICC World Cup 2019 | My team needed me, I carried on, states Hashmatullah Shahidi
Afghanistan batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi has revealed that he rejected the advice of his medical team to retire hurt in favour of continuing to bat after a bouncer had split apart his helmet. He said that he did so because he did not want his family to worry neither did he want his team to suffer.
Head injuries have become a major concern in sports in recent years after the governing organizations finally realized the consequences could be fatal in case of inadequate precautions and delayed attention to the injury. However, a large number of critics still feel that the matter is not being taken as seriously as it should be and on Tuesday, we witnessed another incident to support the claim.
Chasing a steep target of 398, Afghanistan were struggling to get anywhere close with Shahidi on the crease batting on 24 in the 30th over. To add to it, Mark Wood steamed in with a 145 kmph bouncer that struck the side of his head viciously causing the helmet to break in two. The impact was sickening and the batsman immediately fell to the turf, visibly struggling. However, he was back on his feet surprisingly quick and went on to make 76, the most by an Afghanistan batsman in the match.
“One of the reasons I got up so quickly is because my mum is always thinking of me. I lost my father last year so I didn’t want her to hurt. My whole family was watching, even my big brother was here in the ground watching. I didn’t want them to be worried for me,” an emotionally Shahidi explained, reported The Indian Express.
A doctor along with the team physio had immediately rushed onto the pitch to tend to him. Team official Naveed Sayeh confirmed after the match that they had offered him to return to the pavilion, but the batsman was determined to carry on and ignored the advice of the experts.
“The ICC doctors came to me, and our physios, and my helmet was broken in the middle. They just told me ‘let’s go.’ I told them I can’t leave my teammate at that moment. My team needed me, I carried on,” Shahidi added.
Ever since Phil Hughes’ death in 2014 with a similar injury, ICC and national cricket boards around the world have made the rules more strict when it comes to safety. The idea of a substitute allowed to both bat and bowl in exchange for a player hit on the head during the match has been floating around for quite some time. The concept already into practice on various domestic circuits and according to reports, the setup is likely to come into play in international cricket as early as the end of 2019. Various international cricketers and coaches have supported the measure.