Delhi Capitals were forced to bring on Vipraj Nigam as a concussion substitute, instead of Dushmantha Chameera, after Lungi Ngidi injured his head during their IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings on Saturday (April 25).
Lungi Ngidi rushed to the hospital after suffering head injury
Ngidi was rushed to the hospital after falling backwards, with his head hitting the ground, while trying to take a backtracking catch in the third over of Punjab Kings’ chase. The South Africa pacer immediately held his head, and the medical team rushed onto the field. An ambulance was soon called for, and it made its way on the field to rush him to the hospital.
The game was stopped for a prolonged period due to the injury. Initially, it seems Sri Lanka pacer Dushmantha Chameera was getting ready to replace Ngidi as a concussion substitute. However, the Capitals later brought on leg-spinning all-rounder Vipraj Nigam.
Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao later revealed that they couldn't field Chameera because he would have been their fifth overseas player in the match, when only a maximum of four are allowed. This could have been potentially why the Mumbai Indians didn't bring on Will Jacks as a concussion substitute for Mitchell Santner against the Chennai Super Kings.
Clause 1.2.9 of the IPL 2026 playing conditions that deal with concussion substitutes state that a replacement may be allowed “if a player sustains a concussion or suspected concussion, as a result of a head or neck injury during the course of the relevant match.”
This was the second instance of a concussion substitute in this IPL season after Shardul Thakur replaced Mitchell Santner in Mumbai Indians’ defeat to the Chennai Super Kings. The replacement led to some confusion among fans, with some questioning whether Santner had only injured his shoulder. However, replays showed that Santner had also hit his head on the ground while taking the catch, also possibly twisting his neck.
As far as DC’s IPL 2026 match against PBKs is concerned, the home side posted a mammoth 264-2, riding on KL Rahul’s 67-ball 152. Nitish Rana hit 91 off 44 as well, with the duo adding a franchise record 220 runs for the second wicket in 96 balls.
Punjab, however, raced off the blocks in the powerplay, hitting 116 runs in six overs, with Prabhsimran Singh completing a fifty in the process. He was later dismissed for 76 off 26, while Priyansh Arya departed for 43 off 17. PBKS were 143-2 in nine overs at the time of writing, needing another 122 from 11 overs.
Match 35, Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings
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