PSL: Du Plessis suffers concussion while fielding; back from hospital

Bengaluru, June 13: While the sporting world grappled with the horrific scenes of Christian Eriksen collapsing on the field during Denmark and Finland’s Euro game, the sporting world was dealt another scare as another sportsman suffered a concussion on the field during the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

South African batsman Faf du Plessis, who is playing for Quetta Gladiators has suffered a concussion following a nasty clash with his teammate Mohammad Hasnain. The incident happened during Gladiators’ match against Peshawar Zalmi in Abu Dhabi.

But to everyone’s relief, the batsman took to social media and said that he was back from the hospital and recovering. "Thank you everyone for all the messages of support. I'm back at the hotel recovering. Have concussion with some memory loss but I will be fine. Hopefully be back on the field soon. Much love," du Plessis tweeted.

During the match on Saturday, following the clash, du Plessis went down and the former South African skipper lay on the ground for a couple of minutes, while physios rushed onto the field to attend to the player.

But to everyone’s relief the 36-year-old player eventually got on his feet and walked back to the dugout before being taken away to the hospital for scans. Du Plessis was replaced by Saim Ayub. It was the second case of concussion in two days for the Gladiators.

The collision between the duo took place in the 19th over of Peshawar innings when du Du Plessis' head hit Hasnain's knee before the South Africa cricketer fell on the ground. It happened as Du Plessis was trying to stop a boundary.

Du Plessis' wife Imari shared a story on Instagram and wrote: "This is killing me right now. Surely he should be checked in hospital?" The Gladiators used a concussion substitute for the second time in two days.

During their last match against Islamabad United, all-rounder Andre Russell took a blow to his helmet from a Mohammad Musa bouncer. He was replaced by the fast bowler Naseem Shah. Russell was not available for selection for Saturday's match against Zalmi.

This was du Plessis' second game of the PSL upon its resumption. He had scored 5 against Islamabad United as the Gladiators lost the match by 10 wickets. Before the resumption of PSL, du Plessis was playing in the IPL 2021, where he scored 320 runs from seven matches, including four consecutive half-centuries, his form helping Chennai Super Kings to a strong position in the table. The lucrative league was then suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Inputs from PTI