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Journalism of Courage
Cricketer Mayank Agarwal flew to Bengaluru on Wednesday after he was discharged from the ILS Hospital in Agartala, where he was undergoing treatment after suffering a health emergency aboard a New Delhi-bound flight just before takeoff.
Chakraborty also said the TCA had deputed a manager to attend to the Karnataka Ranji Trophy team skipper and arranged for a vehicle to drop him at the airport on Wednesday.
The TCA executive faulted the airline that was flying Mayank Agarwal on Tuesday for the presence of a toxic liquid on board even after the aircraft was cleaned. “What if a child had drunk from that bottle? It could have been even worse. Foul play is not likely but it was certainly negligence on the part of the airline,” he said.
However, a manager of the Karnataka Ranji team said, “Mayank Agarwal is here. He is out of danger. We don’t want to speak on what happened, how it happened or such things. We are thankful to the Karnataka Cricket Association, Tripura Cricket Association and the Tripura police.”
He also lauded the Agartala hospital staff who treated Agarwal. While the cricketer was initially assumed to need two or three days’ hospital stay, he was able to leave within 24 hours thanks to the efforts of the doctors and other healthcare professionals, he added.
The manager declined to comment on what caused Agarwal’s health issues on board the aircraft. “Mayank is alive and well. That’s all we are concerned about at the moment. We don’t want to talk about anything else. Those things are in the past,” he said.
On Tuesday, police said Agarwal had fallen ill after drinking a liquid from a bottle that he believed to contain water. The cricketer was supposed to fly to Surat via New Delhi. He suffered from an irritation in his mouth and had throat issues, just before the aircraft took off, after which he was immediately deboarded and rushed to the ILS Hospital.
A statement from the private hospital said on Tuesday evening that Agarwal was clinically stable with normal vitals.
West Tripura Superintendent of Police Kiran Kumar visited the hospital and said that a case was registered on statements received from Agarwal’s manager, Ramesh Rao. An investigation has been started to figure out the substance the cricketer ingested, he added.
Agarwal also suffered from some issues with his voice. Health Secretary Kiran Dinkarrao Gitte visited the hospital and said later that the cricketer was unable to speak owing to some problems.
Agarwal, who has played 21 Test innings for India, led Karnataka to victory against Tripura with 29 runs on Monday, a day before he fell sick. He is the son-in-law of CBI chief Praveen Sood.
