30 January,2010 07:12 AM IST | | Sudheendra Tripathi
India under-19 World Cupper Manan Sharma was not dressed for the occasion... literally.
Son of former India all-rounder and Ranji Trophy stalwart Ajay Sharma, Manan was not allowed to board the flight back home from New Zealand with his teammates because an injury on his thumb was not properly dressed.
Manan had fractured his hand during India's match against England during the under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
"The plaster on his thumb had to be cut and dressed adequately. Since there was no doctor available, the officials at the airport sent him back to the hotel," Sharma Sr told MiD DAY from Delhi yesterday.
Manan will now board a flight today and will return to Delhi via Singapore. After losing to Pakistan, a match which sent Indiau00a0 crashing, the defending champions lost to South Africa in a fifth place play-off to end their ICC Under-19 World Cup on a disappointing note.
It may be recalled that former India skipper Sourav Ganguly and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were stopped from taking their soiled cricket shoes into the country by New Zealand airport authorities in 2002.
