The incident left the viewers watching from around the world gasp in concern as the situation was reminiscent of the late Phil Hughes’ tragedy who lost his life after receiving a lethal bouncer on his neck.
This incident has led to BCCI’s heightened concern aboutthe well-being of Indian cricketers. Recently, the BCCI has briefed the players on the significance of wearing an anti-concussion helmet. However, amidst the growing calls from everywhere to make it mandatory, as of now the BCCI has been left up to the players to decide whether or not to use neck guard on their helmets.
‘Can’t be forced’
A senior BCCI official quoted to The PTI,“Once the new rules on concussions came into effect, the BCCI briefed the captain as well as the coaching staff about it. We have told them about helmets with anti-concussion element — neck guards. A few players including Shikhar Dhawan use it but we can’t force them. Helmet is also about matter of comfort.”
“But helmet is something that a player should be comfortable with. Some players may find it difficult to manoeuvre or feel a bit discomfort around the neck region. Till ICC doesn’t make it mandatory, I believe we should leave it up to the players,” he added.
Following Smith’s injury, Australian team’s sports medicine chief Alex Kountouris had said that compulsory neck guards on helmets for Australian cricketers are “not far away”. As of now, the BCCI has made it optional for Indian players but a final decision on the matter by ICC is highly awaited.
Singh speaks
The veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh weighed in with his two cents on the matter.. He feels that the neck guards cannot be made mandatory based on Smith’s technique only.
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