On the cricket field, umpires are as important as the players. Over the years, many officials have made a name for themselves by officiating and umpiring in international matches. A shocking incident happened in Kanpur on Wednesday when an umpire died on the field during a match.
Kanpur Cricket Association (KCA) senior umpire Manik Gupta died after being attacked by a swarm of bees during a match on Wednesday at the Sapru ground in Shuklaganj, Unnao, injuring both the umpire and the players present on the pitch. This incident is one of the rarest incidents on the cricket field for an umpire to die in this manner.
Umpire dies due to bee sting
Manik Gupta was 65 and was umpiring a KDMA league match between YMCC and Paramount when the bees attacked. Many cricketers and former players were caught in this attack and were seriously injured. Along with him, another officer, Jagdish Sharma, was in white attire, and the crowd hovered around him for about 10 minutes.
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The veteran officer was taken to two private hospitals in Shuklaganj, Unnao, next to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital (LLR), and finally from there to Lakshmipat Singhania Institute of Cardiology Kanpur, where doctors later declared him brought dead. Manik Gupta, a resident of Feelkhana, has been a part of the KCA umpiring panel for 30 years.
KCA Chairman Sanjay Kapoor said that this is a sad incident. He said (as quoted by TOI): “The senior KCA umpire was dedicated to the game. The KCA family shares every sorrow and stands with the bereaved family. All possible help will be provided to his family.” His last rites will be performed on Thursday.
Super 8 stage starts on Sunday
The T20 World Cup 2026 has entered the Super 8 stages. The group stage matches are almost over; There are still four matches left to be played. Fans have found their 8 teams for the upcoming round: South Africa, India, Zimbabwe and West Indies are in Group 1 as they are pre-seeded as per the rankings, with Zimbabwe replacing Australia as they were eliminated.
England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been given preference in Group 2. Both the groups have been decided and the matches are scheduled to start on February 22. Each team will play the other team of its group and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
The finalists of the 2024 T20 World Cup will face each other
The matches will be exciting as all the teams in the competition are playing a good brand of cricket. The two finalists from the previous edition, India and South Africa, have been placed in the same group as they meet each other for the first time in the competition on February 22, which is scheduled to begin at 7 PM IST.
During the same day’s play, co-hosts Sri Lanka will face New Zealand. Both teams have good spinners and depth in their batting, along with some inform batsmen, this game is going to be interesting. The match is scheduled to start at 3 pm Indian time.
Also read: He removed the pressure from everyone: Suryakumar Yadav praised Shivam Dubey.
