OTD | Jesse Ryder was horrifyingly assaulted in Christchurch in 2013

Former New Zealand batter Jesse Ryder was one of the finest talents ever produced by the Kiwi nation. He was often called Virender Sehwag of New Zealand. However, he failed to replicate his talent into a great cricket career.

Over time he has been making headlines but just for the wrong reasons making him one of the most controversial cricketing personalities. The 39-year-old batter has suffered a lot of unnecessary controversies denting his to-be great cricketing career. One of the biggest controversies of his life happened in 2013.

On 26th March 2013 Ryder was brutally assaulted in a bar which put him in coma for days. According to media reports Ryder got indulged in a heated argument with two men in a bar. Things turned ugly as he was brutally assaulted.

Ryder was soon transferred to a hospital where he was put into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Initially, it was reported that he suffered severe injuries in his skull and his lungs also collapsed. The Kiwi cricketer was declared in Comma but soon overcame it.

Soon, Jesse Ryder’s family revealed that he didn’t suffer any head injury. Ryder took almost nine months to recover as he made his international comeback in January 2014. He played his last international game against India at Wellington on January 31.

Where is Jesse Ryder now?

After failing to secure a place in the national squad Jesse Ryder turned out into an Indoor cricketer. He represented New Zealand in the Indoor Cricket World Cup in 2022 at the age of 38 years. Notably, Ryder spoke about his cricketing career and said that he should have got another chance.

In an interview with a media outlet, Ryder had said, “There’s a period there where I was two years sober and I tried to get back in the team and they didn’t give me an opportunity. That was my period where I was dominating domestic outdoor cricket and I wanted to have one more crack while I had such a good mindset. I felt that I could be one of the top batters in the world, but I didn’t get the chance.”

Notably, Jesse Ryder represented New Zealand in 18 Tests as he scored 1269 runs at an average of 40.20. He also played 48 ODIs scoring 1362 runs at an average of 33.21. Ryder hammered three centuries and six half-centuries in his ODI career.

Ryder also represented the Black Caps in 22 T20I games and scored 457 runs at an average of 22.85. Since his debut in 2008 Ryder has been one of the most sought youngsters around the globe. Due to his amazing domestic performance, he got a chance to play for Delhi Daredevils in IPL.