Cricket is among the select few sports where players utilize various protective gear, including gloves, helmets, and pads, to shield themselves from potential injuries. This protection is essential, particularly when a hard ball weighing 150 grams hurtles towards them at speeds of 140-150 kilometers per hour. While these precautions generally ensure player safety, incidents still occur, sometimes narrowly avoiding serious injuries. Recently, Bangladeshi batsman Tanzid Hasan experienced such a close call, narrowly escaping a major mishap.Close Call for Tanzid Hasan in T20 World Cup MatchThe incident occurred during a match in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Bangladesh faced the Netherlands. In the match held in St. Vincent, Bangladesh batted first, losing an early wicket. However, opener Tanzid Hasan showcased explosive batting. During this performance, an event transpired that could have ended his career but, fortunately, luck was on his side. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc)Helmet Saves the DayIn the third over of Bangladeshs innings, Dutch medium-pacer Vivian Kingma delivered a slightly short ball that Tanzid attempted to pull. Unfortunately, he missed, and the balls edge struck the top of his bat, lodging into the visor of his helmet. The unexpected occurrence left everyone stunned and Tanzid visibly shaken, as the ball could have struck his left eye had it penetrated the visor instead.Potential Career-Ending Injury AvertedTanzids fortune lay in the balls relatively low speed and its entrapment in the visor, sparing his eye from a possibly career-ending injury. This incident echoed past near-misses in cricket. South African wicketkeeper Mark Bouchers career ended when bails struck his eye. Similarly, Englands Harry Brook had a ball lodged in his helmet visor but escaped unhurt. However, not everyone is as fortunate. About a decade ago, Indian pacer Varun Aarons fast delivery pierced the visor of Englands Stuart Broad, injuring his nose and causing significant bleeding.
