Make helmet mandatory for batsmen at professional levels: Sachin Tendulkar

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday urged International Cricket Council (ICC) to make use of helmets mandatory for batsmen at professional levels.

The Indian batting maestro, who rarely batted without a helmet, tweeted: "The game has become faster but is it getting safer? Recently we witnessed an incident which could’ve been nasty. Be it a spinner or pacer, wearing a HELMET should be MANDATORY for batsmen at professional levels. Request @icc to take this up on priority."

This came after SRH batsmen Vijay Shankar was hit on the face by a throw from KXIP fielder Nicholas Pooran as he was reaching the crease to complete runs during an IPL match.

Tendulkar also tagged crickter Ravi Shastri in another tweet saying: "This also reminded me of the time when you got hit after top edging a full toss bowled by Mr. Gavaskar during an exhibition game. That could’ve been a grave injury too but thankfully wasn’t!"

There has been an increasing demand for using helmets as extra protection after Australian batsman Phil Hughes died in a Sheffield Shield game in November 2014.