New Zealand Star Rachin Ravindra, Injured In Lahore Stadium, Blamed For Own Injury
NDTV
New Zealand cricketer Rachin Ravindra incurred a nasty head injury during an ODI match against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The injury to New Zealand cricketer Rachin Ravindra during an ODI match against Pakistan at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium became a huge talking point ahead of the start of the Champions Trophy. In a rather bizarre and worrying incident, Rachin failed to spot the ball in the glare of the floodlights at the venue and ended up incurring a serious injury that left him bloodied on the field. While some big names in Pakistan's cricketing fraternity admitted that the LED lights at the venue seem to be causing some issue, others have refused to make corrections. Instead, they've blamed Rachin for the injury.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is one of those who brushed aside the criticism the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been getting since the incident. He also feels the talks around the ICC event to be shifted to another country are also ridiculous.
"There's no point trying to make people understand when they don't want to. It's irrelevant. These are some of the latest LED lights that have been installed, so these are fine. When New Zealand players hit sixes off deliveries bowled at close to 150 kph, were the lights not working then? A player who was standing 70 meters away failed to take the catch because of his misjudgment. He is a fine fielder, but perhaps his leg slipped, and he got hurt," Butt said on a local news channel.
A Pakistan news anchor also maintained a similar stance, while also highlighting the floodlight failure that happened during the India vs England ODI match, bringing the match to a halt for a few minutes.
"Like some of the prior campaigns that stated Pakistan cannot host a tournament as big as the Champions Trophy because the stadiums are not ready, I want to ask the same people, 'What do you have to say about what happened in Barabati Stadium? That is an established stadium.' So, I want to say that these things happen. These are not big issues. Just because Rachin was hit in the face doesn't mean that PCB is to be blamed for it," he said.
