IPL 2022: Watch Rishi Dhawan wears a face shield while bowling for Punjab Kings

Rishi Dhawan's face shield on Monday night in IPL surprised many fans but little did anyone know the story behind it. While playing his first game in the IPL since 2016, Dhawan wore a shield to protect his face. The veteran domestic Indian cricketer got hit on his face while bowling in the Ranji Trophy and required surgery after that. He was then ruled out for a few weeks which overlapped with IPL 2022 and he wasn't available for the first 4 games as well.

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This is not the first time that athletes have been seen wearing protective shields. Several basketball stars including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in the NBA have been wearing the face shield since it protects them from injuries. In fact, many footballers also in the past have worn facial protection from the Premier League including Petr Cech, John Terry, and Cesc Fabregas.

The face shield is usually made from polycarbonate shatter-free plastic or even carbon fibre. They are available in free size but most sports stars get custom fitting shields which include foam pads to reduce the impact. The shields are meant to protect the face including the nose, eye sockets and forehead from a direct impact.

With batters becoming more and more aggressive, even the umpires have picked up ways to protect themselves as they often end up in the line of fire. The bowlers too should be taking a cue from Rishi Dhawan who learnt it the hard way.

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