Freak accident knocks out talented Mysuru pacer

Bengaluru: Rajashekar Swamy, 18, reached the city earlier in the week looking forward to bowling to some established players. But a freak accident turned Tuesday into a nightmare for the Mysuru left-arm pacer, who was saved by timely treatment at Sparsh Hospital in Yeshwanthpur. Rajashekar, who underwent an emergency surgery, is now stable.
The incident occurred at the Alur cricket stadium on the outskirts of the city when Rajashekar was bowling at the nets session of Mysore Warriors, who were preparing for the KSCA Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament.
A leading wicket-taker in the Mysuru league, Rajashekar was among the six promising players shortlisted by the franchise following a talent hunt programme in their catchment area.
While retrieving the ball from the adjacent nets, a batter’s shot hit Rajashekar behind the ear. According to eyewitnesses, there was no medical staff, stretcher or ambulance and Rajashekar, who had a concussion, was rushed to the hospital, 10km away, in a car belonging to the franchise. “It was only on Wednesday an ambulance was at the stadium during practice,” said an eyewitness.
While sources confirmed that the player was brought to the hospital in a car, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had a different version. “There was an ambulance on call and the player was immediately shifted to Sparsh Yeshwanthpur for treatment. He is recovering,” stated BK Sampath Kumar, chairman of the governing committee, Maharaja Trophy, and the KSCA vice president.
Detailing the nature of the injury, Dr. Shivakumar S Kupanur, senior consultant neurosurgeon and head of neurosciences, Sparsh Hospital said, “The patient was drowsy when he was brought into the casualty, but his condition deteriorated within 5-8 minutes. The CT scan revealed that he had suffered acute subdural hematoma with significant midline shift, a condition in which the blood vessels rupture leading to internal bleeding and causing pressure on the brain. His condition was critical and any delay in performing a surgery could have led to the patient being brain dead. He was operated upon by our team immediately and within 30 minutes the clot was removed.”
Dr. Kupanur added: “He should be fine in the next 2-3 weeks and resume his daily routine in a month’s time.”