In a tragic incident, Jayesh Savla, 52, lost his life during the Legend Cup, a tournament for players above the age of 50 and organised by the Kutchi Visa Oswal community, at Dadkar Maidan, Matunga, on Monday.
During a match at the Dadar Union Sporting Club pitch, Savla, representing Gala Rocks and playing against the Master Blaster team, was fielding at deep midwicket when he was struck by a ball hit by a batsman playing in another match (TAB v Elleys United Warriors) of the same tournament at the nearby Dadar Parsee Colony SC (DPC) pitch. Savla was hit below his ear and collapsed.
Hit below the ear
Rohit Gangar, 51, who was playing for Master Blaster, when the incident occurred, explained what happened: “Jayesh was struck by the ball just under his ear when a TAB batsman played a pull shot at the DPC pitch adjacent to the Dadar Union pitch. He immediately fell to the ground. His fielding position for our match was deep midwicket but from the perspective of the DPC match, he was standing at short midwicket. It’s extremely sad and shocking to lose a player in this manner.”
Sachin Koli, coach of VN Sule Guruji English Medium School (Dadar), who has been coaching his school team at the same ground for several years added that Savla was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved. “What happened is very unfortunate. We immediately carried him and rushed to a nearby private hospital, but he was no more. Savla appeared to be quite a fit person,” said Koli, adding that, as a precautionary measure, considering multiple matches are simultaneously played at the venue, “local coaches have made it compulsory for young cricketers to wear helmets while fielding near any of the pitches here.”
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‘MCA must act’
Meanwhile, Dilip Dhumal, secretary of Thane-based Sporting Club Committee, who claimed to be present at the ground when this incident happened, felt the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) should take more responsibility in such a serious matter. “A cricketer has lost his life in unfortunate circumstances. These players are registered with the MCA, so is it not the association’s responsibility to protect them? How can so many teams be allowed to play matches at the same time on such a small ground? We must take immediate and appropriate measures to ensure such an incident never happens again,” Dhumal told mid-day.
