Brandon King Leaves Field On Stretcher After Nasty Injury vs Pakistan

Brandon King being stretchered off vs Pakistan [Source:  AFP]

Brandon King was in the thick of things on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test between West Indies and Pakistan at the Queen’s Park Oval. The opening batter’s acrobatic fielding denied Babar Azam his desperately awaited Test century, running him out at 88 off 147.

However, the moment of magic turned into a cause for concern for the West Indies, as Brandon King got injured during the incident, raising questions over his participation in the rest of the match.

Brandon King stretchered off after denying Babar Azam a century

The incident happened at the 74.5-over mark in the first session of Day 3 in Trinidad, as Pakistan’s captain was inching closer to his first Test century since December 2022.

Batting at 88 against Jomel Warrican, Babar Azam pushed a delivery on the middle and off towards the cover region and looked for a quick single. Abdullah Shafique correctly sent him back, but with an acrobatic effort, Brandon King went flying to inflict a runout, with a direct hit.

In the process, Brandon King injured himself and lay on the ground for a considerable time before he was stretchered off by the medical team. He appeared to have injured his lower back, although Cricket West Indies is yet to issue an official update.

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Will Brandon King bat in the 2nd innings vs Pakistan?

Ahead of lunch on Day 3 of the ongoing Test, there is no official update on the severity of the injury from West Indies Cricket’s social media channels.

The right-hand batter had recently scored a fifty against Sri Lanka at North Sound earlier in the summer and is an instrumental part of the top-order, as the Caribbeans look to seal the series and stay alive in the World Test Championship 2025-27.

Notably, Brandon King has previously had side strain issues during the T20 World Cup 2024, which also ruled him out of the tournament at home a couple of years ago. Hence, the team management would want to tread carefully with the situation, considering he is a regular fixture in their playing XI across formats.

West Indies stage fightback in Trinidad

Having won the first Test of the series, the hosts started the ongoing Test well with a toss win and some starts for batters across the lineup. Fifties for captain Roston Chase and Justin Greaves helped them reach 344 runs in the first innings.

Pakistan went all guns blazing towards the end of Day 2 and racked up 266/2 at Stumps, with a century for Abdullah Shafique and fifties for Azan Aawais and Babar Azam. Nonetheless, as you would expect from a Pakistan side, they collapsed yet again after Brandon King’s direct hit to dismiss Babar.

Led by Jomel Warrican’s 3/96 in 37 overs and 2/68 for Shamar Joseph, West Indies have reduced Pakistan to 318/6 in 92 overs and have a golden opportunity to wrap up the tail and avoid conceding a big lead.

It is also noteworthy that the in-form Justin Greaves is also out of the field due to a groin injury, making Brandon King’s presence of utmost importance in the second innings.

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