Although cricket is not a contact sport, it does involve the usage of a leather ball and a wooden willow, both of which have the potential to cause significant injury if they come into contact with a player in an unsafe manner. When Chamika Karunaratne was attempting to catch a ball, the ball ended up landing directly on his teeth, causing him to bleed profusely. This experience taught him a valuable lesson.
After being delayed earlier in the year due to the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the Lanka Premier League has finally begun. This tournament, which features some of the most well-known names in Twenty20 cricket from around the world, was initially scheduled to begin earlier in the year but was postponed. In the fourth match of the tournament, which took place on December 7 in Hambantota at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, the runner-up from the previous tournament, the Galle Gladiators, faced off against the newest addition to the competition, the Kandy Falcons, with the goal of making early inroads into the six-team competition. In spite of the fact that the latter team ultimately prevailed with ease, winning by a comfortable margin with five wickets and as many overs to reserve in their pursuit of 122, the incident that took place early on in the game was the one that received all of the media attention.
After the Gladiators skipper Kusal Mendis won the coin toss and elected to bat first, the team’s batting performance was disastrous, as they were reduced to 1/2 after only eight deliveries. In the fourth over, the side suffered additional damage, however fielder Chamika Karunaratne was the one who was physically affected the most by it. Nuwanidu Fernando was facing off against Carlos Brathwaite on the first ball of the pacer’s second over. In an effort to change the tide of the match in his favour, Nuwanidu Fernando attempted to clear the fence over cover off of a fullish delivery outside off. However, he mistimed it, which resulted in the ball going straight up into the air; Karunaratne, at that point, pursued after the ball while sprinting in the opposite direction.
The pacer looked like he had a good position, but he miscalculated the ball going down, and the Kookaburra ended up hitting him square in the mouth as a result. Karunaratne instantly gripped his mouth, despite the fact that it ended up leaping into his hands. Blood was plainly coming out of his mouth at the time. The 26-year-old man’s lips were covered in blood by the time he left the field, and he was promptly sent to a private hospital after leaving the field. Later reports indicated that Karunaratne had sustained injuries as a result of the incident, including the loss of four teeth and the need for surgery; nonetheless, his status remained stable. Twitter users were left in disbelief at the horrible event, and many sent their best wishes for Karunaratne’s rapid recovery.
