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| Dr Rudi Webster |
Calcutta: Dr Rudi Webster, the West Indies’ former manager and mental conditioning coach, who worked with the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL-V, is recovering after surgery in a Bangalore hospital.
Invited by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to interact with coaches and the U-19 squad, at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Dr Webster collapsed minutes after completing his session with the India colts on May 31.
A day earlier, he’d interacted with the NCA’s coaches.
Dr Webster (incidentally, a radiologist) was rushed to hospital and a scan revealed “stones in the common bile duct.” Also, he was suffering from acute pancreatitis.
Doctors suggested immediate surgery and Dr Webster’s gall bladder was removed.
“I’m struggling a bit at this stage, but I’m getting there (complete recovery),” Dr Webster told The Telegraph from his hospital bed on Thursday evening, sounding rather feeble.
According to Dr Kinjal Suratwala of the NCA, Dr Webster is likely to remain in hospital for a further two-three days, as the antibiotics are still being given intravenously.
“Dr Webster cannot be discharged till such time that he can have the antibiotics orally... He’s eating well, though... Hopefully, he’ll able to leave for home (Grenada) in a week’s time,” Dr Suratwala said, speaking exclusively.
Apparently, Dr Webster had suffered “severe abdominal pain” while in New Delhi for the Knights’ match against the Delhi DareDevils, on May 7, but he largely ignored it.
Dr Webster, who turned 73 in hospital, shouldn’t have been so casual.
Former India batsman and one of the heroes of our first World Cup win, in 1983, Sandeep Patil, informed that the BCCI was taking care of the medical expenses.
Patil, who is the NCA’s director of operations, added that the Knights’ team director, Joy Bhattacharjya, was in regular touch with the men who matter.
“Dr Webster has a heart problem, so everybody was initially worried... However, things are absolutely under control now,” Patil pointed out.
Footnote: Dr Webster’s mobile went kaput a couple of days ago and that made wife Lindi panic. She didn’t have the hospital’s numbers and ended up telephoning this Reporter on Thursday morning. An update was given in the evening, which brought relief to a lady sitting thousands of miles away.
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