Six-year-old boy gets hit on chest by cricket ball, dies

Barely four days after a 20-year-old West Bengal cricketer died following an on-field collision with a teammate while fielding, the sport saw one more tragedy, this time in Hyderabad, where a six-year-old was hit on the chest by a ball while fielding and died on Thursday.

Vamshi Krishna, a UKG (Upper Kindergarten) student of Nagarjuna Montessori School in Vanasthalipuram, was hit on the chest by a shot from a 14-year-old boy during a friendly game with other boys on a school playground. Hit hard by the cork ball, Vamshi collapsed on the ground.

"The locals rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead," said B Bhaskar, Vanasthalipuram assistant commissioner of police.

However, Vamshi's parents lodged a complaint with the police, saying their son's death was due to negligence on the part of the 14-year-old boy who hit the shot. A case was registered by the police under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code (Police to enquire and report on accident, etc.) without naming anybody.

According to the police, all the boys playing were below the age of 12. "Though no one had any intention to cause an injury, a case was registered and the investigation is on," said Bhaskar.

Vamshi's mother, who did not wish to be named, said the other boys should have taken some precaution when they took her son in their team. She added that her son was playing in the local team for the last few days and that she had felt confident of his safety.

"If only the boys had taken note of his age and put him in a safe area (on the field), he would have survived," said the mother.

A doctor at the Osmania Hospital said Vamshi was brought dead and a post mortem was conducted.

"The boy was grievously injured by the ball, which hit him on his chest and also his head," said the doctor.

According to the residents of Sahara Estates, where Vamshi resided, the body was brought back to the complex on Friday afternoon and was taken to the crematorium.

On Friday, gloom descended over Sahara Estates, usually a hive of children's activities, and it wore a deserted look. The watchman of the housing complex refused to answer any questions about the incident and the residents also requested not to be probed.

The watchman and other boys in the team said they were only playing a friendly and a "time pass" game.

One of the boys, a 12-year-old, said Vamshi had been playing with them for the last few days.

The boy did not want to be named as he said he was afraid police would file a case against him. He said, "We don't have any coach and we played with a regular cork ball."

One of the residents, who lives on the same floor as Vamshi's family, said, "He was a very sweet boy and always wanted to play with older boys."

Second death while playing cricket this week
This is the second incident this week of death while playing cricket. Former Bengal Under-19 cricketer Ankit Keshri died on Monday after sustaining a head injury while fielding in a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) senior knock-out match in Kolkata. A day later, another Bengal cricketer, Rahul Ghosh, was injured on his head while playing a club match in Kolkata. He is said to be improving.