The Indian Premier League has not been too kind to the Australian contingent this season as the likes of Shaun Marsh, Steve Smtih, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell have all already left the tournament through various injuries.
And the danger for players from down under does not seem to go away as was evident in Tuesday night’s game between the Rising Pune Supergiants and the Delhi Daredevils.
George Bailey, the replacement for Steve Smith at the Pune franchise took a blow to the helmet from a fierce ball from fellow Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile.
The Australian T20 skipper was not in at his best as he found it hard to score runs and scored just 8 runs of 18 deliveries but his innings was enough to give the Supergiants just their fourth victory this season in a rain affected game.
However, the game had enough drama after this incident in the 7th over.
Bailey who was struggling to find the middle of the bat tried to pull a marginally short pitched delivery that took the edge of the bat and smashed into the grill of the helmet. Though the player did not suffer any injuries, he explained that the experience was like being hit by a truck.
The helmet was completely rendered useless as it flew off his head and the 33-year old had to replace it during the game but he should consider himself lucky to have escaped any damage to his face.
You can watch the video here:
Talking to the media after the game, Bailey said, “Those watching on TV got a better picture than I did, because all I sort of remember was it was like getting hit in the face by a truck.”
He also felt thankful for having had the new helmet on during the incident.
“It was pretty quick. I was quite glad to have one of the new helmets on,” he added.
Fellow Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa had a good day as he picked 3 wickets for just 21 runs in that game while Ajinkya Rahane’s unbeaten 42 was enough to get his team home.
Surely, the effect of the Australian contingent in the Indian Premier League is now quite evident.