An eerie thought —"this could have been me" crossed my mind the moment I watched the video of Phillip Hughes' injury. Most of us who've faced the racing ball charging at 140+ kmph have been hit, not once but several times. But each time either the helmet, the glove, or the bat has come in handy, thankfully.


Aakash Chopra fends a short delivery against Australia in Melbourne Test in 2003. Pic/Getty Images 

There have been some pretty bad blows too, like when I was hit during the Boxing Day Test match and a physiotherapist had to be called in to check on me. Or when the ball punctured the wire gauge of my helmet and hit my eye during the finals of the Ranji Trophy 2012.