Pakistani batter Shan Masood was taken to the hospital after getting struck on the head on Friday, 21 October, according to reports. The incident happened during a training session of the Pakistani team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The 33-year-old batter was seen padded up in the videos of the incident, waiting for his turn to bat, whilst Mohammad Nawaz was batting at the nets. A shot from the all-rounder struck the side of Masood’s head, resulting in the batter collapsing on the field.
Despite looking in agonizing pain, the player was fortunately conscious when he was taken to the hospital.
The team management is now awaiting reports of scans before taking a decision on team selection ahead of their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign opener against India on 23 October.
Pakistan have mentioned three players on their standby list – Shanawaz Dahani, Mohammad Haris and Usman Qadir. Being the only batter in the trio, Haris is expected to be drafted into the main squad if Masood is ruled out, though the possibility of such an occurrence does not look high, as of now.
Long List of Injuries Already at the T20 World Cup 2022
Since the commencement of the competition, six cricketers have had their campaigns cut short owing to unfortunate injuries. In the Pakistani team itself, Usman Qadir was replaced by Fakhar Zaman after the former could not recover from a thumb fracture.
England’s Reece Topley rolled his ankle during a practice session, and has since been replaced by Tymal Mills, while Australian wicketkeeper-batter, Josh Inglis suffered a freak injury while playing golf.
In the Sri Lankan team, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera and Danushkha Gunathilaka have been ruled out with quadriceps, calf and hamstring injuries respectively. The United Arab Emirates’ Zawar Farid was also ruled out due to a fractured foot.
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