Agartala: Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal has suffered a major health scare on board a flight to Surat from Agartala and has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a local hospital in the Tripura capital. Agarwal has reportedly consumed a poisonous liquid during the flight from a bottle he believed contained drinking water.
The flight returned to the Tripura capital and Agarwal, captain of the Karnataka Ranji Trophy team, was deboarded and admitted to the ICU section of ILS Hospital in Agartala. According to reports, he is said to be out of danger. The 32-year-old, who is currently leading his state team in the ongoing 2023–24 Ranji Trophy season, had complained of a burning sensation in his mouth, stomach and throat and was immediately rushed to the hospital. He is believed to be out of danger after drinking liquid from a pouch, which he thought was water and was kept on his seat as he was on board with IndiGo airlines.
The Karnataka batter lodged a formal complaint after the incident.
"Mayank Agarwal, an international cricket player. Now he is stable and his vitals are normal. But his manager has lodged a specific complaint under NCCPS (New Capital Complex Police Station) to investigate the matter," SP West Tripura Kiran Kumar, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"His manager said that when he was sitting in the aeroplane, there was a pouch in front of him. He drank a little bit not much but suddenly there was irritation in his mouth and suddenly he couldn't talk also and was brought to ILS hospital. He had swelling and ulcers in the mouth. Otherwise his vitals are stable," the top police official added.
Agarwal believed the bottle contained drinking water and thus consumed it, reports said. According to officials, Agarwal complained of a burning sensation immediately after drinking from a bottle, which is suspected to have a poisonous substance. Alongside, the Karnataka captain, team manager Ramesh was also deboarded from the plane. Agarwal had led the Karnataka team to a 29-run victory over Tripura at the Maharaj Bir Bikram Stadium in Agartala, which started on January 26 and ended on Jan 29.The Karnataka team was travelling to Surat to play against Railways in their next match at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat from Friday (February 2).
Indigo released an official statement after the incident but didn't elaborate the reasons behind the medical emergency which halted the flight for a brief period.
"IndiGo flight 6E 5177 operating from Agartala to Delhi returned to origin due to a medical emergency onboard. The passenger was off-loaded and was rushed to the hospital for further medical assistance. The aircraft took off again for its destination at 1620h," the airline said in its press release.
Agarwal is currently going through a purple patch in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season so far, as he has scored 460 runs in four matches at an average of 44.28. He has struck two centuries to his name. Agarwal was the leading run-getter of the 2022–23 season of India's premier first-class competition.
Karnataka are currently second in Group C of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group with 15 points in four games, having won two matches and lost one. Agarwal, who has played 21 Test matches for India since making his debut in 2018, last played for India in a Test against Sri Lanka in March 2022. He has scored 1488 runs in 21 matches at an average of 41.3, with four centuries to his name.
The right-handed opener also played five ODIs for the national team and represents the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2024 season after joining them in 2023. He led the Punjab Kings in the 2022 season of the league. (With agency inputs)
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