Fresh head injury scare to young Kolkata cricketer

A young cricket player, Rahul Ghosh, was on Tuesday hospitalised after sustaining a head injury during a local league match, a day after the tragic demise of former Bengal Under-19 team captain Ankit Keshri.

Ghosh had to be rushed to the Nightingale Hospital in central Kolkata after he got injured while fielding during the second division league match between his team Kolkata Police and Vijay Sports.

Ghosh, who was fielding in the covers, was injured when the ball hit him.

“He has an injury in the left side of the head. He has had haemorrhage, but no vomiting. CT scan has been done. It shows a clot,” Sabyasachi Sen, the attending doctor said on Tuesday.

Ghosh, nearing 20, was now stable, but will be kept under observation for seven to eight days, the doctor said.

“Before that nothing conclusive can be said,” he said.

Sen said the young player had difficulty in remembering the happenings just after the incident.

“He picked up the injury behind the left ear while fielding. He will be kept under observation as these things can easily evolve. There is no edema (abnormal accumulation of fluid) near the brain stem, and his vital part has not been hurt,” he said.

“The surgeons will decide what to do next. No ventilation is needed now. He is under constant monitoring,” the doctor added.

The cricket world was plunged into gloom on Monday after former Bengal Under-19 captain Keshri, regarded as a bright future prospect, succumbed to a head injury sustained during a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) senior knock out tournament game Friday last.

Twenty-year-old Keshri – turning out for his club East Bengal against Bhowanipore – was injured and fell unconscious following an on-field collision with a fellow fielder Sourav Mondal while taking a catch.

He passed away in the same hospital early on Monday following a cardiac arrest. His bereaved famly has alleged “medical negligence”.