Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023: Baba Indrajith bats with taped mouth after freak injury

Baba Indrajith earned huge praise from the cricket fraternity after he walked out to bat with a heavily taped mouth during the semi-final clash between Tamil Nadu and Haryana in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy in Rajkot on December 13.

Chasing 294 runs for a place in the summit clash, Tamil Nadu lost their third wicket in the 14th over, with 54 runs on the board. Indrajith, who scored 92 against Madhya Pradesh and 103 not out versus Mumbai in his last two innings,  walked out to bat with tape on his mouth. After facing only 10 deliveries, the 29-year-old called for the physio as he was not looking at ease. The physio promptly made his way out to the middle along with doctors at the venue to treat the right-handed batter.

The white dressing was removed and padding was added on Indrajith's upper lip before taping was done to keep it in place. The experienced batter carried on with his innings without showing any signs of discomfort. Wickets fell around him but Indrajith kept the scoreboard ticking. After scoring 64 runs off 71 deliveries, the former Kolkata Knight Riders player was dismissed by Anshul Kamboj as Ankit Kumar took a fine catch. Tamil Nadu's hopes of reaching the finals ended with the wicket of Indrajith. They eventually lost by 63 runs as Haryana progressed to the title-deciding clash.

After the match, Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik revealed that Indrajith had hurt himself during the mid-innings break and had a deep cut on the upper lip. Immidiately after the game, Indrajith was rushed to the hospital, where he received stitches.

Later, the gritty cricketer took to his official Instagram handle and said that he had slipped as he was coming out after having an ice bath. He thanked his well-wishers and assured that he would return to action soon.

“Thank you all for your concern and wishes. Slipped and fell very badly when I stepped out of the ice bath mid-innings. Fell face-on in the bathroom and was shaken up quite a bit. Was bleeding with a deep cut on the upper lip and the inside of the lip. Managed to bat somehow but was gutted to not cross the finish line for the team. Just went to the hospital and got my stitches done. Should be back soon. Thank you once again,” Indrajith posted on Instagram.

Indrajith finished as the highest run-getter for Tamil Nadu in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 330 runs from seven innings at an impressive average of 66. Meanwhile, Haryana will face the winner of the second semifinal between Rajasthan and Karnataka on Saturday, December 16.