Jos Buttler 'feared the worst' after injuring the 20-year-old Sri Lankan cricketer

Jos Buttler, the explosive English wicketkeeper-batsman, known for his ability to destroy the opposition on his given day, is currently in Sri Lanka as part of the Test squad for England’s tour of Sri Lanka. England were scheduled to play two 2-day practice matches against Sri Lanka Board Presidents XI before the official matches begin – one out of which ended on Wednesday in a draw.

After Sri Lanka declared their innings at 392/7, England were doing pretty well at 220/3. Jos Buttler and Joe Root were at the crease, and were looking comfortable, then out of nowhere Buttler went for a vicious pull off Angelo Mathews, but only managed to hit the helmet of the short-leg fielder, Pathum Nissanka, very hard from where the ball bobbed up for an easy catch to the bowler, Mathews himself. The blow seemed to have done some damage to the 20-year-old Nissanka.

Nissanka had tried to get out of the line of the ball but got almost no time to do so, and only ended up crouching for cover at the same place. England’s medical staff were quick to help their Sri Lankan counterparts as they helped treat Nissanka before the 20-year-old was placed in a head brace and stretchered off the field. The ambulance arrived at the venue later and took Nissanka to the hospital.

Jos Buttler, unsurprisingly, seemed shocked by the unfortunate incident and admitted he “feared the worst” the moment he saw his pull hitting the 20-year-old, “You always fear the worst, I think,” Buttler was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “I hit it pretty hard and hit him flush so it was a big worry straight away. When he went down you are just hoping for the best. The doctors and physios ran out and gave great care straight away.”

“You don’t mean to cause injury but it is a real unfortunate accident. But we’ve got a great doctor and physio here and they did a good job. I just heard he is doing a lot better so that is great news.”

Pathum later underwent an MRI scan which showed nothing to worry about but he still has been kept in hospital overnight as a precautionary measure. Buttler, who was eventually dismissed on the same ball as Nissanka was injured, conceded that a certain competitive edge was missing after the unfortunate incident but still said his team has enough time to prepare for the first Test, starting next week in Galle.

“Perhaps it took something [out of the game] but it is hard for someone to go in there so soon after something like that happens,” Buttler said. “The guys still had some good time in the middle, whether short-leg is in there or not it is good to acclimatize,” he concluded.

~ Written by Nahmat Maeraj