World Blood Donor Day: Recalling the time Sir Frank Worrell saved former Indian captain Contractor's life

The bouncer that ended an international career

Batting has often been considered dangerous since the earliest days of the game. But it's rare where a batsman has been seriously injured.

The whole scenario changed in 1962 when India's young captain Nari Contractor was left critically ill after being struck on the head by West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith.

The Indian captain was in need of blood transfusion while undergoing an emergency operation. Teammates Chandu Borde, Polly Umrigar and Bapu Nadkarni - whose blood group matched with Contractor’s - came forward and donated blood.

“Those were days when there were no helmets, no restriction on the number of bouncers in an over and no restrictions on beamers either. The pitches were uncovered. But it was the same for everyone then and we were prepared for the challenge. No complaints,” Contractor had told The Hindu.

“I don’t remember much about the incident. But I must thank the fellow cricketers who donated blood for me, and the surgeon who conducted the emergency operation. I was in the operation theatre for a long time.”

However, the moment everyone remembers is that when West Indian Sir Frank Worrell also donated blood.

“Worrell’s gesture, coming from the opposition, showed the game transcended boundaries,” Borde had told The Hindu.

Contractor made a remarkable recovery and while he did return to the game, he was never again picked for his country. As for Worrell, it was while he was accompanying the West Indies team to India in 1966-67 that he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

He succumbed to the disease at the age of 42, on March 13, 1967, in Jamaica.