Cricketer dies after being hit by ball on head, incident reminiscent of Australia’s Phil Hughes rocks Mumbai

In a horrific incident, a cricketer from Mumbai died on the spot after being hit on the head by the ball while fielding. The deceased, identified as Jayesh Chunnilal Savla, was playing a cricket tournament at Matunga’s Major Dhadkar Maidan on Monday. Unfortunately, the ball that hit him came from a different match that was taking place on an adjacent pitch. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead.

The 52-year-old businessman from Bhayandar, who was fielding with his back towards the batter from the adjacent pitch, was unaware of the ball traveling at him. He could not get away with the ball and it resulted in a tragic incident that rocked the cricketing circles of the city. Police officials said that the incident took place around 5 pm on Monday.

“A tournament was organised by the Kutchi community and the matches were taking place at Matunga Gymkhana Dadkar ground,” a police officer said. “There were two matches taking place on the same ground at the same time and while Savla was fielding for his team, a ball that was hit by a batsman from another match suddenly hit him on his head due to which he fell unconscious,” he added.

Eyewitness say the incident reminded them of Australia’s Phil Hughes

The Kutchhi Visa Oswal Vikas Legend Cup – a T20 tournament organised for people aged 50 or more. Space constraints and time availability forced the authority to schedule two cricket matches simultaneously at the same ground. Meanwhile, Rohit Gangar, who also plays in the eight-team tournament, said that Jayesh Savla was hit exactly where Australia’s Philip Hughes had been hit which led to his death back in 2014.

“We had two matches on Monday afternoon, one at Dadar Union and the second at Dadar Parsee Colony pitch. Savla was playing for Gala Rocks against Master Blaster and was positioned at point when the DPC game’s batter hit a pull shot. The ball hit him on the back of his head, exactly where Australia’s Phil Hughes had been hit which led to his death.”

Hughes suffered a fatal blow while batting for South Australia against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during a Sheffield Shield match on November 25, 2014. The tragic incident remains an unhealed wound in the hearts of cricket fans.