Two cricketers killed in road accident

Two promising under-19 cricketers of Orissa died in a road accident near Cuttack on Tuesday night, Orissa Cricket Association sources said on Wednesday.

The two cricketers, S P Priyadarshan and Srikant Patnaik, who represented the Bhubaneswar 'A' team in the last super league match of the inter-district C K Nayudu tournament at Cuttack on Tuesday, were on their way to the capital city on a motorcycle which had a head-on collision with a truck near Bhanapur, about six km from Cuttack.

Grievously injured, the two boys were rushed to the S.C.B. Medical college hospital at Cuttack, where they were pronounced dead.

Priyadarshan, a sound batsman, had already captained the Orissa under-16 side and was a trainee at the Eastern Zone Cricket Academy in Calcutta.

Priyadarshan had made a valuable 43 for his side in the last match of his short career while Patnaik, an allrounder, hit 36 and grabbed a wicket though their team lost the match to finish runners-up to Cuttack A.

OCA president Dr Prabhat Kumar Mishra, general secretary Ashirbad Behera and other officials rushed to the hospital after getting the news about the mishap.

Mail Cricket Editor