The incident happened while he was batting for Manipay Parish SC-Blue, a division three club in Surrey. Once he got hit, air ambulance doctors rushed to the spot, treated him and took him to the hospital, but he died of the injuries.

The Manipay Parish SC, in a statement, expressed their condolence:

"His untimely loss has left a devastating effect on our member clubs and on our cricket community as a whole. We would like to express our sincere condolences to the members of his family and friends."

"Our cricketer Bavalan Pathmanathan is no longer with us. He was hit by the ball on his chest while batting. Our club is totally shocked by his death at this young age."

Bavalan, who is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, was born in Point Pedro (Paruthithurai), Sri Lanka, and later moved to England.

This is the third time in the past one year that a cricketer has lost his life on field.

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes (25) died last November after being hit in the neck by a freakish bouncer, and former Bengal U-19 captain, Ankit Keshri, died in April after colliding with a fellow fielder.