West Indies legend Brian Lara 'fine and will be discharged soon' after being hospitalised in Mumbai for chest pain

West Indies batting great Brian Lara was on Tuesday taken to a Mumbai hospital after he reportedly complained of chest pain. Lara is in India as part of the Star Sports expert panel for the coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. It was later revealed that he was “fine and will be discharged soon”. [caption id=“attachment_6245141” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  File photo of West Indies legend Brian Lara. Reuters[/caption] Lara was taken to the Global Hospital in Lower Parel. As per The Hindu, he was brought to the hospital at around 12.30 PM and medical tests began almost immediately. He was at a nearby hotel when he complained of discomfort and was rushed to the hospital. News agency PTI, via a source, said, “He had an angioplasty (a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to the heart) done two years back and today was a regular check-up as there is always a fear of heart pain. He is fine now and will be discharged soon.” “As a policy, we respect our patients and their right to privacy. Till the time the patient doesn’t give us consent, we cannot divulge anything about him. Please respect his privacy. At this point, we cannot say anything,” Dr Jigna Shrotriya, the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, said in a brief statement issued in the evening. Doctor also chose not to go into specifics of the ailment even as she was pressed to comment on rumours that Lara underwent an angiography, a common test to check blockages in arteries or veins. Lara, who turned 50 on 2 May, is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen in cricket’s history. He holds the record for the highest individual Test score, an unbeaten 501, and is the only man to score 400 in a Test. Lara played 131 Tests and 299 ODIs for West Indies from 1990 to 2007. In 131 Tests, Brian Lara amassed 11,953 runs including 34 hundreds and 48 fifties. In 299 ODIs, Lara scored 10,405 runs including 19 hundreds and 63 fifties.

@windiescricket former player #BrianLara hospitalized after complaining of chest pain in #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/0N8YYThqBF

— Kamit Solanki (@KamitSolanki) June 25, 2019

He has long been compared to another legendary batsman of that era - Sachin Tendulkar. They dominated the batting charts in the 1990s and kept their best for Australian bowlers. In 31 Tests against Australia, Lara scored 2856 runs including 9 hundreds and 11 fifties.