West Indies great Sir Vivian Richards fell ill during an on-air pre-game analysis on the eve of the second Test between West Indies and India at Sabina Park (Kingston) on Friday.
While on the show, the 67-year-old complained of uneasiness and was immediately taken to the Caribbean dressing room. And although he was initially taken on a stretcher, he later decided to walk with the help of the volunteers.
As per the sources, Richards suffered from dehydration due to excessive humid conditions in Jamaica and was duly taken to the hospital for a check-up. The former cricketer, however, returned to the commentary box soon after and was quoted by PTI as saying,
“To all the fans around the world, I want to say I have recovered. I am OK and I have returned (to do commentary),” he said on air. “No bowler in the world could do it to me, that was done by nature (meaning heat). We have to respect nature,” he added.
Viv Richards, who was doing the pre-game show, seems to have fallen ill on air. They initially brought in a stretcher but then they got him to stand up and led him up the stairs. #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/4MGBhuZCSn
— Aishwarya Kumar @INDvsWI (@kumaraishwarya) August 30, 2019
Meanwhile, put in to bat first by West Indies captain Jason Holder, India rode on the back of Virat Kohli’s 76 to post 264/5 on Day 1. India were reduced to 46/2, but a 69-run stand between captain Kohli and Mayank Agarwal put India in a decent situation. Kohli went on to play another respectable partnership (49) with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket before India went on to pick the momentum.
By the end of the first day, Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari were playing on 27 and 42 respectively.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Hugo Philpott
