Cricket has suffered another tragedy after another young cricketer died playing for his club. 20 year-old Indian cricketer, Ankit Keshri, who was only on the field as a substitute fielder, collided with a team-mate as both players attempted to catch the ball. Despite regaining consciousness, he died of a cardiac arrest in hospital.
India's greatest ever batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, paid Keshri a moving tribute via Twitter by saying; "promising career aborted by an unfortunate incident in the field."
International cricket is still reeling from the shock of the death of Australian opening batsman, Philip Hughes, during a club match in November 2014.
Hughes died after taking a blow to the neck when trying to fend off a bouncer in a freak accident. The injury caused a massive brain haemorrhage, from which he died two days later. His death caused a review into the safety of protective helmets worn by batsmen, and led to a series of tributes from cricketers the world over.
More recently, Richie Benaud has been fondly remembered for his services to cricket after dying from skin cancer.
A few days after Hughes' death, 55 year-old umpire, Hillel Oscar, also died on the field during a match in Israel. In this incident, the batsman had hit the ball hard and it had cannoned off the stumps, hitting Oscar directly in the face. Despite receiving attention from paramedics, doctors were unable to save him upon arrival at Ashkelon's Barzilia Hospital.
Their deaths are unfortunately not isolated incidents. Indeed in recent years, there seems to have been more casualties revealed. In 2013, South African batsman Darren Rendall, 32, collapsed at the crease after being struck on the head by a ball, and never recovered. In the same year, Pakistan batsman Zulfikar Bhatti, 22, was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital after being struck on the chest by a cricket ball.
A year earlier, English fast bowler Richard Beaumont, 33, suffered a suspected heart-attack after taking five wickets in a match and was unable to be resuscitated at the Queen Elisabeth hospital in Birmingham.
Despite these reports and the attention on cricket in the wake of Philip Hughes death, these fatal injuries are rare and have occurred to people both young and old in the pursuit of the game they loved.
The tragedy is for those who remain. Keshri's family will be feeling the loss of their loved one, son, brother and friend. They need to be afforded the time and respect to grieve, and remember a life cut short all too soon.
