Umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj admitted to ICU after being struck in face during DPL 2026 match

Umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit after being struck on the side of his face during the Delhi Premier League 2026 match between East Delhi Riders and New Delhi Tigers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. The blow occurred while New Delhi Tigers batter Lakshay Thareja played a straight drive in the 18th over of the Tigers’ chase.

East Delhi Riders had posted 192 runs in their 20 overs, aided by strong contributions from Vansh Mehra, Arpit Rana and Mayank Rawat. The New Delhi Tigers’ Rishabh Sharma finished with figures of 3/34. Bhardwaj had previously sustained a blow to his shoulder earlier this DPL season, and a post shared by Delhi Premier League T20 (@delhipremierleaguet20) related to the incident appeared on social media.

The incident unfolded when Thareja attempted a forceful straight hit on the rise off left-arm spinner Ashish Meena in the 18th over. The delivery travelled quickly, giving Bhardwaj very little time to react; he failed to dodge and was struck on the side of his face. Players and the match medical team immediately attended to him on the field, and he was reported to be in severe pain.

Medical personnel treated Bhardwaj at the ground before he was taken from the stadium for further care. Multiple reports confirmed he was admitted to a hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit for observation. Those reports did not confirm the type or extent of the injury, and no official medical diagnosis or update has been released.

Chasing 193, New Delhi Tigers began well but lost wickets at regular intervals, reaching 94/4 at the halfway point of their innings. Skipper Himmat Singh and Lakshay Thareja attempted to rebuild the innings after the early setbacks. Mayank Yadav dismissed Himmat Singh for 31, a wicket that precipitated the Tigers’ collapse.

The Tigers were eventually bowled out for 156, falling 36 runs short of the Riders’ total, and East Delhi Riders won by 36 runs. Rishabh Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for the Tigers with figures of 3/34.

The match result saw East Delhi Riders record a 36-run victory, and the report of Bhardwaj’s admission to ICU remains the predominant development from the fixture. The article was written by Subhomoy Datta, a sports writer since 2022; he holds a BSc in Microbiology from Rastraguru Surendranath College, WBSU, and is currently pursuing his master’s at NIT Surathkal.