Former South African U19 bowler Mondli Khumalo has been admitted to the hospital after being assaulted outside a pub in the UK.
Mondli Khumalo Assaulted in UK
Mondli Khumalo who is in the UK as an overseas player for North Petherton Cricket Club was assaulted near the Green Dragon pub in Bridgwater on Sunday morning. Notably, Mondli was celebrating his team’s victory last weekend when the incident took place outside a pub in Bridgewater on Saturday night.
His medical report states Mondli suffered a fractured skull when falling to the ground having been struck, and was operated on immediately following his admission. A second operation took place on Monday morning after further spikes in his BP caused by bleeding in the brain.
However, on Monday, Jason Sathiaseelan, the Chief executive of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Inland, the club with whom Khumalo is contracted confirmed that Khumalo is stable and was confident that he will recover swiftly.
“He had surgery yesterday and the surgeon has reported that the operation was as successful as it could be. Mondli is in an induced coma, but the surgeon is positive that he can recover from this,” Sathiaseelan told Club Cricket SA.
Mondli Khumalo’s condition was purported as stable earlier on Tuesday, later he was rushed into surgery after his condition deteriorated.
Mondli featured for South Africa in the U19 World Cup 2020 and holds a high-performance contract with KwaZulu-Natal Inland for the 2022/23 season.
The North Petherton Cricket Club in a statement said, “We extend our heartfelt support to Mondli for a full and speedy recovery. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and colleagues in South Africa. Our thanks to those that helped Mondli, especially the health service staff on scene and at hospital.”
North Petherton Cricket Club have set up an online fundraising page to help support Khumalo’s recovery.
— North Petherton CC (@NorthPethyCC) May 30, 2022
Khumalo’s agent at the Cricket Club, Rob Humphries speaking to sports media said,
“Mondli is such a gentle guy. His mom just can’t understand how something like this could have happened to him. And everyone at North Petherton just adores him. He is a genuinely lovely kid. He was having a really good time here. He had bowled really well and he had become such a wonderful part of the club.”
Somerset’s T20 Blast Livestream partner Trade Nation has pledged to donate £50 for every six, and £150 for every ball struck out of Taunton during Friday’s match against Glamorgan.
