46-year-old cricketer Zulfiqar died after falling on the field during a local cricket match in Sri Lanka. The incident occurred due to a suspected heart attack, following which the tournament was suspended.
A heartbreaking news has come from Sri Lanka. A local cricketer died after falling on the field during a match in Beruwala town of Kalutara district. The incident occurred on Sunday, July 5, during a cricket carnival of old students of a school. A video of this incident is going viral on social media. In this, a Sri Lankan cricketer named Zulfikar is suddenly seen falling on the field. Seeing him falling, the players and umpires of both the teams got scared and ran towards him. Since the match was being live-streamed on social media platforms, especially YouTube, the painful video of the cricketer’s fall spread quickly, leaving people and the local cricket community in shock.
How did the Sri Lankan cricketer fall on the field?
This match was being played between two teams in the cricket carnival of the old students of the school. The tragic incident occurred when both the teams were arguing over a decision by the umpire, just before the player fell. 46 year old Zulfikar was batting after scoring 6 runs on 3 balls. He raised his hand from the striker’s end towards his team’s dugout and made some gesture. As soon as he started walking, he suddenly fell on the pitch. Seeing him fall, the tension on the field ended and the players and umpires of both the teams got scared and ran towards him.
The Sri Lankan cricketer was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Following the tragedy, the match was immediately canceled and the tournament suspended indefinitely to mourn the loss.
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Reports say that the Sri Lankan cricketer had a suspected heart attack during the match. However, there is no official medical confirmation yet regarding the real cause of death. The entire incident was seen live on social media, as the match was being broadcast online. In this, the painful moment of this 46 year old player falling on the pitch was captured. For this reason, the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely in memory of the player and to give the local cricket community time to recover from this sudden and tragic loss.
Increasing incidents of sudden cardiac arrest on the cricket field
The death of Sri Lankan cricketer Zulfiqar due to a suspected heart attack has once again sparked a major debate regarding the health and safety of amateur and recreational cricketers. His death is like many of the shocking incidents in which middle-aged and healthy-looking players often collapse suddenly during matches.
Many such cases have come to light in India too, where local cricketers have lost their lives due to sudden cardiac arrest while playing on the field. In May this year, former Karnataka Ranji Trophy cricketer SL Akshay (39) died of a fatal heart attack while playing a third-division league match in Bengaluru. It is a painful reminder of this serious issue.
Just five months before SL Akshay’s death, former Mizoram cricketer K. Lalremruata also died tragically of a heart attack while playing in a local tournament. Many local cricketers have died while playing, often due to sudden cardiac arrest, which strikes even those who appear fit and active.
These incidents of sudden cardiac arrest have become a matter of international concern not only in India but also in countries like Sri Lanka. This has raised questions about the safety of cricketers at all levels of the game. The recent incident at Beruwala has once again brought this issue to the fore and increased international concern over the safety of cricketers.