Ravi Ashwin responds to Jaydev Unadkat's call of introducing face-masks for bowlers

The cricketing world had their heart in their mouth when videos of Ashok Dinda getting hit by a ball on his forehead started doing the rounds all over. Dinda received the blow while bowling during at the Eden Gardens. The pacer was hit on his forehead while attempting a sharp caught-and-bowled during Bengal’s Twenty 20 practice match on Monday.

The incident took place when batsman Birender Vivek Singh hit a straight drive and Dinda attempted the catch on his follow through. But he failed to stop the ball and it went on to hit him hard on his forehead. Dinda soon fell on the ground as the players and medical staff rushed to help him. But fortunately, he stood up and even completed the over before walking off the field.

He was later taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure and tests revealed that he was clear of anything too alarming.

“Dinda looked fine as he completed the over before returning to the dressing room,” a CAB official was quoted as saying to the media. “As a precautionary measure, he was taken for scans. There is nothing alarming but he has been advised two days of rest.”

But the mishap once again underlined the importance of introducing safety measures for the bowlers in the game. The advent of T20s have put the bowlers in a lot of dangers and several bowlers have already asked for the safety measures. The latest accident, nonetheless, gave Saurashtra star Jaydev Unadkat to reiterate it again as he batted for the introduction of face-mask for the bowlers. He took to Twitter to express his opinion and also asked for senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s opinion.

“About time that a “face-mask” for bowlers makes its way into all that has evolved in cricket. Its scary how this kind of incidents have become frequent in our game! Hope you good Dinda @dindaashoke .. What do you say Ash bhai? @ashwinravi99,” wrote Unadkat.

About time that a “face-mask” for bowlers makes its way into all that has evolved in cricket. Its scary how this kind of incidents have become frequent in our game! Hope you good Dinda @dindaashoke .. What do you say Ash bhai? @ashwinravi99 https://t.co/J76hqBgXpJ

— Jaydev Unadkat (@JUnadkat) February 11, 2019

Ashwin replies:

Three days after Unadkat’s query, Ashwin finally responded on Thursday. The India spin spearhead said that he has been vouching for face-masks since 2011 before stating that these mishaps have started happening in the game only after the introduction of the T20s, writing:

“Been saying it since 2011, these kind of incidences never used to happen in the pre T 20 Era. Something has surely changed, wonder what it is🤔”

Been saying it since 2011, these kind of incidences never used to happen in the pre T 20 Era. Something has surely changed , wonder what it is🤔 https://t.co/5xasN4IAbZ

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) February 14, 2019

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.