children playing cricket
the bat slipped from the coach's hand and Vigneswaran, who was fielding in the slip, was hit by the bat on his head - Representational Image Taylor Weidman/Getty Images

A 12-year-old boy slipped into coma after getting hit by a cricket bat on Sunday (17 September).

P Vigneswaran, an eighth grade school student from southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was training on the school ground with his sports coach M Kuppusamy, 38 when the incident occurred.

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According to the Times of India newspaper, the coach was batting when the bat slipped from his hand and hit Vigneswaran, who was fielding in the slip.

"He swooned on the floor. He was taken to Salem government super specialty hospital with severe head injuries," police said. Other children on the ground reportedly told the police that incident was an accident.

Hospital Dean Kanagaraj said that the boy suffered injury to the brain and had internal bleeding, the New Indian Express newspaper reported. Vigneswaran is currently in a critical state, the doctor said.

Police have registered a case of negligence under Section 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and have also arrested coach Kuppusamy.

In a similar incident in June this year, a 15-year-old boy in the US had to be put on life support after he was hit in the face by a baseball. Jason Lockhart, the son of a former Atlanta Braves was playing in a baseball tournament in South Carolina when the catcher threw a ball back to the pitcher as he was crossing the plate. The baseball hit Jason in the face and broke his nose, WXIA reports.