‘Banning bouncers is not the solution’

Mumbai: Australian batsman Phillip Hughes’ unfortunate death has united the cricket community in grief but divided the group on the use of bouncers. A rising ball bowled by Sean Abbott in a Sheffield Shield match struck the 25-year-old left-hander and his injury proved fatal despite wearing a helmet. While bouncers have been bowled even in an era where helmets were unheard of, some want bouncers to be outlawed with immediate effect.

Indian bowlers felt it would be unfair if the bouncer was banned. “No professional bowler bounces the ball to hit a batsman. Fast bowlers use bouncers to not to shock a batsman but to surprise him. It is generally used to push him on the back foot,” said lanky fast bowler Pankaj Singh.The Rajasthan bowler, who made his Test debut during India’s tour of England, said that harming a batsman is never the intention. “It is very unfortunate that Hughes lost his life.

Once in a Corporate Trophy game, I bowled a bouncer and it passed through the grille of the helmet. If I had known the outcome before, I would not have bowled. Nobody does it intentionally.”Pankaj added that injuries are part of the game. “Boxers get so many cuts and bruises but they carry on. Road accidents take place daily but you don’t stop driving from the next day. You cannot avoid injuries but need to look at ways to minimise its impact.”

Ishwar Pandey too felt that banning the bouncer wouldn’t be a solution. “As a bowler I would like to have a bouncer in my armoury. Banning bouncers will create an imbalance. Hughes’ death was a freak accident but we must not be banned from bowling a bouncer.”Karnataka and South Zone captain Vinay Kumar said that cricketers were shaken but needed to move on. “When I heard the news I was kind of numb. I didn’t know how to react. The cricketers are going through the same thing.”