Ambulance arrives on field after Venkatesh Iyer sustains blow to neck in Duleep Trophy game; India star returns to bat
Iyer walked off the field, however, and even returned to bat later in the innings against West Zone.
The second day of Duleep Trophy match between Central Zone and West Zone saw worrisome scenes on the ground, as India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was hit on the neck by a throw from West Zone's Chintan Gaja. Following the blow, Iyer fell in pain and even an ambulance was called on the ground to take the India star away from the action. Thankfully, not only did Iyer decided to walk on his own, he also return to the crease after the fall of the seventh wicket of the innings in a bid to revive the Central Zone innings. He was, however, dismissed on 14.
The incident took place when Iyer was batting on 6. A journalist who was at the ground during the game captured the incident. Iyer was taken to hospitals for scans and even as he returned to bat, he hasn't taken the field for West Zone's second innings so far.
Central Zone was dismissed on 128 after West Zone had scored 257 in the first innings of the game. Captain Karan Sharma top-scored for the Central Zone side with 34 off 64 deliveries.
With the ball, Jaydev Unadkat and Tanush Kotian picked three wickets each.
Iyer was called-up for the Indian senior team after the side's dismal outing in the T20 World Cup last year. After Hardik Pandya made himself unavailable to focus on his recovery from injury, Iyer took his role as all-rounder in many international limited-overs series; however, Pandya's stellar return in the 2022 Indian Premier League ensured his return to the Indian team in June.
Consequently, Iyer, who had an indifferent IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders, was overlooked for selection.
Earlier in the game between Central and West Zone, the Ajinkya Rahane-led West Zone side rode on contributions from Prithvi Shaw (60) and Rahul Tripathi (67) to reach a respectable 257 in the game.
Shaw slammed another half-century in the second innings but Rahane had a forgettable game, scoring 8 and 12 in both innings respectively.
