Sri Lanka trainer Nick Lee almost took the field against India in Delhi

The ongoing third Test match between India and Sri Lanka was under threat on Sunday for a bizarre reason. Dinesh Chandimal and his men were seen wearing the masks on the field as they were struggling due to the smog. The players were struggling to stay out in the middle especially bowlers, Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage who left the field eventually. However, at one stage Sri Lanka had only 10 fielders fit to play and their trainer Nick Lee was seen sporting the white jersey and ready to get onto the field.

India were looking comfortable during the post-lunch session when the whole ground was covered due to smog. It covered the whole ground and even the cricketers and the support staff in the dressing room were seen using the mask as a protective gear. The skipper of the visitors was extraordinarily animated to not continue as his team was falling over one after the other. The umpires were, however, looked keen to continue and so were the hosts.

Who is Nick Lee?

Nick Lee who is currently the trainer of the Sri Lankan team was ready at the sidelines donning their jersey to field for his team. He would’ve become the first foreign cricketer to play for the team from the island nation. However, he has the experience of playing first-class cricket and has played for the teams like Bedfordshire, Cambridge MCCU, Suffolk, Sussex 2nd XI in England. He was part of Bedfordshire in 2015 and since then hasn’t played any competitive cricket.

He has played 13 matches in at first-class level in which he has scored 490 runs at an average of 30.62 to go with three half-centuries. Though he wasn’t needed eventually as the Indian captain Virat Kohli looked furious with the proceedings and decided to declare the innings on 536/7 45 minutes before tea and was visibly unhappy with the opposition for wasting the time.

Clause 1.2.3 of the ICC Test Playing Conditions:
"All those nominated including those nominated as substitute fielders, must be eligible to play for that
particular team and by such nomination the nominees shall warrant that they are so eligible."

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) December 3, 2017