Nari Contractor

The man whose international career was cut short by a deadly short ball by Charlie Griffith, Nari Contractor, was a left-handed opening batsman who played 31 Tests for India.

In 1952/53, Contractor's first-class career got off to an unplanned start after he was called up to replace the captain of Gujrat, who had injured himself on the morning of the match. He took the opportunity with both hands and slammed centuries in both the innings of his debut match. He became only the second man after Arthur Morris to achieve this feat.

Contractor's first knock of some importance for India came against the West Indies in Delhi in 1958/59 where he scored 92. In the second Test at Lord's in 1959, Brian Statham broke two of Contractor's ribs, but despite the injury, he carried on batting and scored 81 in the Indian total of 168.

When Australia toured India in 1959/60, he collected 438 runs in the series, including his only Test century in Bombay. His 74 in the second innings of the Kanpur Test proved instrumental in India's first Test win against Australia. His innings, in fact, ended in a bizarre manner when he pulled Alan Davidson and the ball got stuck between Neil Harvey's legs at short leg.

He was appointed the captain against Pakistan in 1960-61, becoming the youngest Indian captain at the age of 26. He also led India to a historic series win against England in 1961/62. He was also chosen as the leader of the Indian side that visited West Indies that season.

In their match against Barbados, Charlie Griffith was using short balls to intimidate the Indian batsmen. On the fourth ball of Griffith's second over, Contractor got distracted after somebody opened a window in the pavilion and didn't see the ball until it was inches away from him. He couldn't get out of the way and got pinned on the back of his skull.

He immediately collapsed on the field and was rushed to the hospital. Contractor's life was in danger and required multiple surgeries to survive. He also needed a blood transfusion and West Indies captain Frank Worrell was the first to donate his blood for Contractor.

Contractor survived the incident, but his international career came to an abrupt end after the injury. He played first-class cricket, tried to stage a comeback, but he was never chosen to represent India again.

With 22 centuries to his name, he amassed 8611 runs at an average of 39.86 in first-class cricket. He received the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contribution to Indian cricket. He currently lives in Mumbai.

By Sidhant Maheshwari