60 years after that fateful incident, plate in Nari Contractor’s head removed | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: A metal plate, inserted 60 years ago in former India captain Nari Contractor’s head after being hit by a Charlie Griffith bouncer on the 1962 tour of the West Indies, has finally been removed through surgery on medical advice. Contractor’s son Hoshedar told TOI that his father was fine after the surgery.
Contractor was admitted at the Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday, and operated on Wednesday. “All well,” Hoshedar told TOI after the surgery, which was performed by Dr Harshad Parekh and Dr Anil Tibrewala.
Contractor was hit by the Griffith bouncer on March 17, 1962 in a side game against Barbados. The 88-year-old, whose international career ended after that injury, played for India in 31 Tests from 1955 to 1962.

A left-handed opening batsman, Contractor also played 138 first-class games. He is also fondly remembered for a gutsy 81 at Lord’s against England in 1959 despite suffering from broken ribs off the bowling of Brian Statham.
Contractor had to go through multiple operations after being struck badly Griffith’s bouncer. Eventually, a titanium plate was inserted in an operation conducted by Dr Chandy, a famous neurosurgeon that time, at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, in 1962. Encouraged by Dr Chandy, Contractor later made a remarkable comeback to first-class cricket in 1962-63 and played for Gujarat and West Zone till 1970-71.
It was a series of unfortunate incidents which led to Contractor being hit by Griffith’s bouncer. Just a ball before being hit, he was dropped at short leg. Apparently, his partner Rusi Surti told him that Grifith was chucking the ball, even as someone opened the dressing room window at that time. All this seemed to have distracted him.
During the surgery, amongst the five people who donated blood to save Contractor’s life were legendary West Indian captain Frank Worrell, Chandu Borde, Bapu Nadkarni, Polly Umrigar and journalist KN Prabhu. After regaining consciousness, Contractor graciously told Griffith’s wife that it was his fault, and not the bowler’s.