Nari Contractor is a former captain of India.© Twitter
Doctors have removed a metal plate from the skull of India’s former cricket captain Nari Contractor – 60 years after it was placed after a near-fatal bouncer by Charlie Griffith of the West Indies. The vicious blow to the back of the head when he faced the fast bowler from Barbados in a 1962 tour match prematurely ended Contractor’s international career after 31 tests and seriously injured him. The contractor underwent numerous surgeries, including the installation of the titanium plate that same year.
His son Hoshedar Contractor told AFP the former skipper, now 88, made a good recovery after the implant was removed at a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“As a family, we were concerned about how he would be able to handle post-operative treatment at this age. But he’s fine and he’s mobile,” he said.
“The doctors Dr. Harshad Parekh and Dr. Anil Tibrewala have done an amazing job.”
The contractor lost skin in the area of his head where the slab was, so they decided to remove it, his son said.
Aside from his nasty injury, Contractor is also known for scoring 81 runs against England at Lord’s in 1959, despite a blow from Brian Statham that broke two of his ribs.
The left-handed opener said in a 2009 interview that when he was hit in Barbados he was distracted when “someone opened a window in the pavilion”.
Frank Worrell, the West Indies captain at the time, several of his teammates and Indian players donated blood as doctors fought to save Contractor’s life.
Batsmen didn’t wear helmets at the time.
promoted
“There were no vision screens at the time and my 100 percent concentration was not on that delivery. I saw it just inches away before it hit me,” contractor told DNA newspaper.
“But it’s not true that I went diving.”
Topics mentioned in this article
