Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan bowled one of the most sensational last over in Indian Premier League (IPL) history as he denied Mumbai Indians (MI) a win despite two big-hitters – Tim David and Cameron Green – in the middle. After conceding just five runs, Mohsin had revealed to the broadcasters that his father was in ICU the day before and dedicated the win to him. Playing his second match of the season, Mohsin went through a lot to be able to roll his arm again. In the post-match press conference, he revealed that the extent of his injury was such that doctors would have had to amputate his hand if he was late by a month.
"It was a very tough time and I had given up hope of playing cricket at one point because I was not able to even lift my hand, forget bowling," Mohsin revealed at the post-match press conference when asked about his long battle with the injury.
"I was not able to straighten it (my hand), my physio worked alongside me. It was medical related, it was quite scary, as the doctor had said if I was late by another month they would have had to amputate my hand," he added.
Mohsin wishes that no cricketer should go through what he went through after a sensational debut season.
"Regarding my injury, I would first like to say that no cricketer should suffer this kind of condition. It was quite strange, my artery was blocked, my nerve was blocked.
"But my association's (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) Rajeev Shukla sir, LSG's Sanjeev (Goenka) sir, my family helped me a lot. They gave their best, but still I was struggling before and after the surgery," the 24-year-old said.
Mohsin played his first match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) earlier this month but did not get a chance to bowl as rain played spoilsport. In the next game, he conceded 42 runs against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). In his first over against MI, he was hit for boundaries by Ishan Kishan. He made a comeback in death overs and dismissed Nehal Wadhera. However, he conceded a six in the 17th over off David’s bat. While defending 11 runs in the final over, Mohsin had a clear plan in his mind.
"Obviously there is pressure when bowling the last over, but I was speaking to the captain that I would be looking to execute what I have been doing during practice. So I followed that and backed myself," Mohsin said.
"I was not thinking that I have to defend 11 runs or 10 runs, my aim was to just bowl six good balls, and thankfully, it worked. I had the confidence in my ability, irrespective of who I was bowling to, and the ball was also reversing a bit."
At the start of the season, it wasn't clear whether he would regain full fitness. He also said that his ailing father would have been happy to watch him play after getting discharged.
"As you are aware now, my father was discharged yesterday (on Monday) only as he had suffered a brain stroke. I had gone to the hospital to see him, told him that he would get well, and see me playing. He must have been very happy watching me play," he said.
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