“If you can stay positive in a negative situation, you win.” This famous line by modern-day living legend Virat Kohli has tremendous significance on the cricket field. While all the cricketers would have ideally liked to implement the same on the cricket field, sometimes people have to bow down in front of destiny. Safety and security at times are in no one’s hands, and that’s why, even if we keep checking on everything in terms of safety if things have to go wrong, they eventually will. Well, that’s precisely what we understand when we talk about ‘accidents’. Yes, accidents on the field regarding poor delivery or a poor stroke happen, and that’s pardonable. However, if an accident directly threatens a good year, you know then and there that something is seriously wrong. Recently, we all had the tragic example of Rishabh Pant, who unfortunately suffered a severe car accident. So today, we are here to list examples of more cricketers who unfortunately suffered fatal accidents in the past.
Rishabh Pant: Rishabh Pant is one of the most talented players that we have in the country. He’s a gem of talent indeed across all formats, and we love him for everything. But, unfortunately, while he has pulled off some stunners to help India and Delhi Capitals win essential games in the past, he had a tragic car accident around the essential22. The news came as a shocker for one and all, and ever since then, fans have been praying for his speedy recovery. He had multiple surgeries done on him, and here’s hoping he recovers soonest to represent the ‘Men In Blue’ at the earliest.
Andrew Flintoff: Just like Rishabh Pant, Andrew Flintoff, unfortunately, had a horrendous accident in December 2022. Andrew Flintoff, as we all know, is one of the finest all-rounders that England has had in ODI and Test cricket. The accident, unfortunately, happened many years after his retirement. Many years back, during his playing days, he was hurt while presenting BBC’s Top Gear Show. He had also earlier been involved in two more crashes while presenting the show. The good thing, however, is that he recovered.
Andrew Symonds: He’s been one of the most explosive batsmen in Australian cricket down the order, and well, more often than not, he’s done full justice to the role given to him. Unfortunately, his incident is one of the more tragic ones that eventually led to the loss of life. He, unfortunately, passed away in a car accident near Townsville, Australia. He was just 46 when he be, earthed his last, and this is easily one of the saddest incidents in cricket history.
Gary Sobers: Garfield Sobers, also known as Sir Garfield Sobers, is one of the most legendary cricketers to have ever played the game of cricket for the West Indies. It was in the year 1959 when he, unfortunately, suffered a tragic accident. Unfortunately, he was in the driver’s seat when the car collided with a 10-ton cattle in Stoke, England. While Sobers luckily escaped with minor injuries, his fellow cricketers Tom Dewdney and Collie Smith suffered worse. Smith had a spine fracture and unfortunately passed away a few days later at 26.
MAK Pataudi: He was just 20 in 1961, and at that time, he was doing his best, smashing centuries one after another in plenty at Oxford. On July 1 that year, Pataudi rode a Mini Minor with teammate Robin Waters at the wheels. While the car was going to the hotel, it, unfortunately, hit another car. Wisden reported that it was a Humber Super Snipe. That’s when a glass splintered his right eye resulting in permanent damage. The good thing, however, was that he overcame the setback, including double vision, to lead team India within a year.
Colin Milburn: He was one of England’s finest cricketers around 1968-69. He was known for his England’s finest cricketers around the minds of his opponents. In the year 1969, he, unfortunately, suffered a tragic accident. Unfortunately, he lost his left eye when the car he was driving collided with a lorry near Northampton, England. He was just 27 when the incident happened and made a return to first-class cricket in the early 1970s. However, he eventually passed away at the age of just 48.
Ben Hollioke: He was a very talented and exciting all-rounder from Melbourne, Australia. He had played 2 Test matches for England during his cricket career. One fine day in March 2002, he was driving a Porsche in Southern Perth when he, unfortunately, lost control and hit a brick wall. He was 24 when the incident happened, and the crash proved fatal.
While the list has quite many notable names indeed, we would have ideally hoped that such a listicle never existed in the first place. Loss of life or accidents are always hard to deal with, and nobody wants to be in that situation. Here’s hoping that precaution combined with excellent and positive destiny ensures that everything remains smooth and we don’t have more names added to this list.