In a tragic on-field incident, promising young batsman Ankit Keshri passed away after sustaining serious head injury during a Cricket Association of Bengal's Senior ODI knock-out match on April 17. The Bengal batsman was not a part of the playing eleven and was the 12th man of the side. He came on to replace Railways Ranji all-rounder Arnab Nandi at the Salt lake ground during a one day match between local giants East Bengal and Bhowanipore Club.
Fielding at sweeper cover in the 44th over, Keshri rushed to take a high catch as left-arm pacer Sourav Mondal too ran on his follow through. During which both collided with each other and Keshri suffered a head injury.
During the incident, Mondal's knee crashed into Keshri's head and neck region. As Mondal went down, wincing in pain, Keshri was lying flat and not breathing. Blood was trickling down from his mouth. The nearby players rushed to attend him and Bengal spinner Shivsagar Singh tried to resucitate him after which he started breathing again. He was then taken to a hospital. After spending three days in hospital, Keshri was showing signs of recovery. But the subsequent day he suffered a massive cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator before he was declared dead. The 20-year-old had captained the Bengal U-19 team in Cooch Behar Trophy and was in the 30-member India U-19 probables list for the 2014 Colts World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He was also playing for Bengal A (U-23 side) in CK Nayudu national Championship.
Keshri’s death is also a sorry reminder to Australian batsman Phillip Hughes’ death on the pitch a year prior at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The 25-year-old died after he was hit in the neck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match. Hughes, unlike Keshri, never regained consciousness and breathed his last three days before his 26th birthday.