Abs hurt in cricket: What is absent hurt meaning in cricket?

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was unaware of the latest developments around injured duo of batter Ashen Bandara and spinner Jeffrey Vandersay after the recently concluded third ODI against India in Thiruvananthapuram.

Speaking to host broadcaster Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony, Shanaka said that he had no update on their respective injuries. For the unversed, Bandara and Vandersay were involved in a nasty collision while trying to stop a boundary hit by former India captain Virat Kohli in the 43rd over earlier in the day.

Not being able to save a boundary was the least of concerns for everyone after having watched the initial sight of Bandara and Vandersay bumping into each other. Had either of the two fielders called with respect to diving first, the incident could’ve been easily avoided at the Greenfield International Stadium today.

While both the players had to be stretchered off, Vandersay was replaced by all-rounder Dunith Wellalage as a concussion substitute as he was hit on the head. Bandara, meanwhile, didn’t return from the hospital in time to bat in what was nothing short of disastrous effort from the visitors. The nature and extent of Bandara’s injuries also remain unknown for now.

Abs hurt in cricket

Since a substitute in cricket is only allowed for concussion injuries, there was no way Bandara could have been substituted as a batter (a player can only be substituted as a fielder in cricket). As a result, Sri Lanka batted with only 10 batters in their innings whilst unsuccessfully chasing a mammoth 391-run target tonight.

It is due to the same reason that Bandara was “absent hurt” or “abs hurt” during the Sri Lankan innings. Hence, the same was written in front of his name on the scorecard.

Had Bandara been injured while batting, he would have been retired hurt standing a chance to resume his innings upon recovering from the injury.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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