Ngidi suffered a serious head injury while attempting a catch during the DC vs PBKS clash.
Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Lungi Ngidi suffered a serious head injury after falling awkwardly while attempting a catch of Punjab Kings (PBKS) opener Priyansh Arya during the IPL 2026 match on Saturday (April 25).
Players immediately signaled for medical treatment as the atmosphere inside the Arun Jaitley Stadium changed from the noise of a high-scoring chase to apparent concern. The medical crew treated him on the ground before placing him on a stretcher and transporting him to the ambulance.
The ambulance transporting Ngidi arrived at BLK-Max Super Specialty Hospital in Rajendra Nagar in just 11 minutes, with Delhi Traffic Police clearing the way during evening traffic.
ACP Sanjay Singh coordinated a green corridor to rush the injured cricketer to the hospital, which usually takes 25-30 minutes.
Singh was outside the stadium and only became aware of Ngidi's serious head injury via a spectator's mobile phone.
“I'm ACP Traffic of Centre District, and the Arun Jaitley Stadium comes under this jurisdiction. Whenever IPL matches take place, the overall jurisdiction lies with the DCP, and I also control a few things. I was outside the stadium, someone was watching the match on mobile, and then I was informed that someone had faced an injury inside the stadium and an ambulance had entered the field,” Singh said while speaking to HT Digital.
“I thought if the ambulance entered the field, then the player had to be taken to the hospital. We had to give the route to the traffic guys. I went there, and the ambulance was near Gate No.2. The Delhi Capitals officials were also there. Lungi Ngidi was inside the ambulance, wearing an oxygen mask. He wasn't moving, and panic gripped the people. I asked the driver, ‘Where are you taking him?’ It was then that he said that the plan was to take him to BLK Max Hospital in Rajender Nagar,” he added.
Sanjay Singh directed the ambulance driver to ignore Google Maps and follow his manual route coordination instead. By synchronising signals and deploying approximately 60 personnel, the Delhi Traffic Police cleared all key junctions, enabling the ambulance to reach the hospital swiftly.
“I asked the driver, ' Do you know the route? He told me that he would follow the Google Maps. It was peak hour. I immediately informed the control room and told them the entire route from the stadium to the hospital. Everyone was informed that the important junctions, such as Mandi House, should have proper traffic police deployment. It was then decided that a green corridor should be created,” Singh stated.
“Green corridor means the traffic signal would be green for the entire route that the ambulance takes. Fortunately, everyone worked properly. The entire 8 km distance was covered in 11 minutes. One Delhi Capitals official was also travelling in my car, I was monitoring the entire situation, and I was getting the traffic cleared,” he remarked.
Singh, a former domestic cricketer himself, recognised the urgency of getting the player to hospital as quickly as possible. He also shared that he has played alongside Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli.
“There's a Delhi Police cricket team. I played for the last time in 2012. There's one thing called the DDCA League Cricket match. Matches are played group-wise. There were ONGC and Indian Airlines teams, so Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif and Virender Sehwag all used to play. Virat Kohli was a kid back then; he used to play too. I have played cricket with all of them," said Singh.
Sanjay Singh credited the Delhi Police's readiness to the rigorous training they received for such situations.
“Recently, an Artificial Intelligence Programme was killed, and members from several countries had come here. Our senior officials trained us properly at that time. We can create a green corridor at any time and implement it quickly. The entire credit goes to our senior officials," he concluded.