# Umpire in ICU after being hit by straight drive in Delhi Premier League 2026-08-18T08:22:53+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) Delhi Premier League umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after being struck on the side of his face by a straight drive from batsman Lakshay Thareja on Monday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The incident occurred in the 18th over of the match between East Delhi Riders and New Delhi Tigers, when Thareja's shot off Ashish Meena's delivery hit the umpire. The batter looked shocked after the incident. Bhardwaj had earlier suffered a blow to his shoulder in a previous DPL match. East Delhi Riders won the match by 36 runs. They posted 192 for 7 in 20 overs, with Mayank Rawat scoring 40 off 23 balls and Vansh Mehra making 35 off 21. New Delhi Tigers were bowled out for 156 in reply, with Ashish Meena taking 3 for 32. Captain Himmat Singh top-scored for the Tigers with 31. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both reports from NDTV Sports confirm the same incident but frame it differently: one focuses narrowly on the injury itself, while the other buries it inside a full match report. Neither source discusses whether on-field umpire safety protocols were inadequate, nor do they mention any statement from the league or hospital about Bhardwaj's condition. The story's angle tilts heavily toward match highlights rather than the health of the official. What matters next is whether the Delhi Premier League issues any update on Bhardwaj's recovery or changes protective gear rules for umpires. ## Coverage - sports.ndtv.com - sports.ndtv.com (2) This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:18:34+00:00. Tags: Delhi Premier League, Dharmesh Bhardwaj, Lakshay Thareja Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/umpire-in-icu-after-being-hit-by-batsmans-shot-in-delhi-league-match/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/umpire-in-icu-after-being-hit-by-batsmans-shot-in-delhi-league-match/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/