<p>Doctors have removed a metal plate from the skull of India's former cricket captain Nari Contractor -- 60 years after it was put in following a near-fatal bouncer by West Indies' Charlie Griffith.</p>.<p>The nasty blow to the back of his head when facing the Barbados fast bowler in a 1962 tour game put a premature end to Contractor's international career after 31 Tests and left him seriously hurt.</p>.<p>Contractor underwent numerous operations including having the titanium plate installed that same year.</p>.<p>His son Hoshedar Contractor told AFP that the former skipper, now 88, was recovering well after the implant was taken out in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday.</p>.<p>"As a family, our concern was about how he would be able to handle post-op at this age. But he's doing absolutely fine and is mobile," he said.</p>.<p>"The doctors Dr Harshad Parekh and Dr Anil Tibrewala did a great job."</p>.<p>Contractor was losing skin in the area of his head where the plate was so they decided to remove it, his son said.</p>.<p>Aside from his nasty injury, Contractor is also famous for scoring 81 runs against England at Lord's in 1959 despite a Brian Statham blow that broke two of his ribs.</p>.<p>The left-handed opener said in a 2009 interview that when he was hit in Barbados he had been distracted when "somebody opened a window in the pavilion".</p>.<p>Frank Worrell, the West Indies captain at the time, several of his teammates and Indian players donated blood as doctors battled to save Contractor's life.</p>.<p>Batsmen did not wear helmets at the time.</p>.<p>"There were no sight screens at that time and my 100 per cent concentration wasn't on that delivery. I saw it just inches away before it hit me," Contractor told the DNA newspaper.</p>.<p>"But it isn't true that I ducked."</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>Doctors have removed a metal plate from the skull of India's former cricket captain Nari Contractor -- 60 years after it was put in following a near-fatal bouncer by West Indies' Charlie Griffith.</p>.<p>The nasty blow to the back of his head when facing the Barbados fast bowler in a 1962 tour game put a premature end to Contractor's international career after 31 Tests and left him seriously hurt.</p>.<p>Contractor underwent numerous operations including having the titanium plate installed that same year.</p>.<p>His son Hoshedar Contractor told AFP that the former skipper, now 88, was recovering well after the implant was taken out in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday.</p>.<p>"As a family, our concern was about how he would be able to handle post-op at this age. But he's doing absolutely fine and is mobile," he said.</p>.<p>"The doctors Dr Harshad Parekh and Dr Anil Tibrewala did a great job."</p>.<p>Contractor was losing skin in the area of his head where the plate was so they decided to remove it, his son said.</p>.<p>Aside from his nasty injury, Contractor is also famous for scoring 81 runs against England at Lord's in 1959 despite a Brian Statham blow that broke two of his ribs.</p>.<p>The left-handed opener said in a 2009 interview that when he was hit in Barbados he had been distracted when "somebody opened a window in the pavilion".</p>.<p>Frank Worrell, the West Indies captain at the time, several of his teammates and Indian players donated blood as doctors battled to save Contractor's life.</p>.<p>Batsmen did not wear helmets at the time.</p>.<p>"There were no sight screens at that time and my 100 per cent concentration wasn't on that delivery. I saw it just inches away before it hit me," Contractor told the DNA newspaper.</p>.<p>"But it isn't true that I ducked."</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>