Rishi Dhawan face surgery: Why Rishi Dhawan wearing mask while bowling in IPL?

Rishi Dhawan face surgery: The PBKS all-rounder once again caught the fans’ attention on social media due to him wearing a face shield.

During the 60th match of the ongoing 15th season of the Indian Premier League at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Rishi Dhawan struck twice in his very first Over of the night, as RCB lose their top-3 batters in the Powerplay, en route a steep chase of 210 runs.

Brought into the attack after the end of four Overs, after Kagiso Rabada got rid of the ever struggling Virat Kohli (20 off 14) in the previous Over, Dhawan sent the RCB skipper Faf du Plessis (10 off 8) back in the hut, as he managed to take his bat’s outside edge through to the wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.

A couple of deliveries later, after being smashed for a Six, he sent Mahipal Lomror (6 off 3) packing as well.

However, apart from his contribution on the field with the ball, Dhawan, managed to garner the attention of the fans, courtesy of the peculiar looking face-shield which he once again donned as he stepped on the field.

Rishi Dhawan face surgery

The Himachal Pradesh all-rounder was a source of fun and amusement when the fans first had a look of him wearing the face shield during the PBKS versus CSK IPL 2022 match a few days ago as well.

However, the story behind him donning the same is not a hunky-dory one at all. The 32-year-old was in-fact, victim of a serious on-field injury during his side’s Ranji Trophy match against Tripura this year on February 25.

Dhawan was hit on the face with the ball while on his bowling follow-through, and the impact had a severe impact, while damaging and in fact fracturing his three cheekbones.

“It was a caught and bowled chance, and I failed to react quickly, and the ball went between my palms and hit my face. There were three cracks in my cheekbones, and it got dislocated. I had to go through the surgery. It happened on February 25, and the surgery took place on March 2,” exclaimed Dhawan during an interaction with the national Daily Indian Express.

With the doctors advising him to take a year off from the game, an IPL opportunity had also knocked at his door after as many as five years.

However, Dhawan, after missing the first six matches for his side for post-surgery recovery, did mark a return back to the field of play, donned the transparent face shield as a protective gear, and won his side the IPL 2022 match against CSK, by bowling the final Over of the match.