A cricketer of Sri Lankan origin has died after being hit by a ball while playing a match in England’s Surrey county.
The 24-year-old, Bavalan Pathmanathan, was batting in a local league match when a ball struck his chest on Sunday.
An air ambulance arrived but Pathmanathan could not be saved as he succumbed to his injuries.
Pathmanathan played for Manipay Parish Sports Club in what’s called as the British Tamil League at Surrey’s Long Ditton recreation grounds.
One of his team-mates told the Colombo Mirror newspaper that soon after Pathmanathan was hit by the ball, he asked him if he was ok.
“He gave a thumb-up and nodded to indicate he was alright, while pressing his chest. He then took a couple of steps behind the stumps and collapsed. He was such a talented and composed cricketer and a darling friend of all of us. Every one of us is going through terrible pain as a result of this terrible loss.”
Manipay Parish Sports Club posted a statement on its Facebook page, “Our cricketer Bavalan Pathmanathan is no longer with us. He was hit by the ball on his chest while batting. our club was totally shock by his death at this young age.”
The cricket world mourned the tragic death of death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes in November 2014, after being struck on the top of the neck by a short pitch delivery during a domestic match in Sydney.
More recently in May this year, Bengal’s Under-19 cricket captain Ankit Keshri, died after getting seriously injured while fielding in a match.
(Photo from Pathmanathan’s Facebook page)