Net bowler hit on the head during Punjab practice session

Alok, the bowler in question, turned his back on a hit when shouts of ‘watch it’ rang out as a ball came flying towards him, and started to bleed from his nose after the ball rammed into the back of his neck.

He was immediately rushed in an ambulance to a hospital, though he was conscious if badly shaken. Staying alone in Bangalore, Alok will spend the night in the hospital as a precautionary measure because of the fact that he received a head injury, though by late afternoon, he was able to talk and was in no obvious discomfort apart from the pain arising from the blow.

Meanwhile, dashing Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey put in an appearance at the National Cricket Academy. Pandey, who recently underwent hernia surgery, has started jogging and doing light weight training without straining his abdominal muscles, and is hopeful of being fit for the knockout phase of the Ranji Trophy, beginning in the first week of the New Year.