Lungi Ngidi is stable and recovering now, but when he suffered a nasty neck injury, a sense of dread descended on players and fans alike. Last week, during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the South African pacer landed awkwardly, appearing to impact his neck heavily on the turf. The 30-year-old collapsed immediately, prompting the physio to rush out. Concern deepened when Ngidi remained motionless and unresponsive, leading to an ambulance entering the field and a neck brace being fitted to the speedster.
Ngidi was slowly and carefully moved into the ambulance. The priority was to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. But it was 6:15 PM, and Delhi was on the verge of hitting peak traffic. That was when ACP Sanjay Singh took the call to implement a green corridor, ensuring Ngidi reached the hospital in just 11 minutes.
The journey from Arun Jaitley Stadium to Rajendra Nagar usually takes 25 to 30 minutes, but it was completed in 11 minutes after key junctions were cleared. Singh, however, was outside the stadium when Ngidi was injured and only learned of the incident when someone watching the Delhi-Punjab match on a mobile phone informed him.
“I’m ACP Traffic of Centre District, and the Arun Jaitley Stadium comes under this jurisdiction. Whenever IPL matches take place, the overall jurisdiction lies with the DCP, and I also control a few things. I was outside the stadium, someone was watching the match on mobile, and then I was informed that someone had faced an injury inside the stadium and an ambulance had entered the field,” Singh told HT Digital.
“I thought if the ambulance entered the field, then the player had to be taken to the hospital. We had to give the route to the traffic guys. I went there, and the ambulance was near Gate No.2. The Delhi Capitals officials were also there. Lungi Ngidi was inside the ambulance, wearing an oxygen mask. He wasn’t moving, and panic gripped the people. I asked the driver, ‘Where are you taking him?’ It was then that he said that the plan was to take him to BLK Max Hospital in Rajender Nagar,” he added.
‘Google Maps’
At first, Singh asked the driver if he knew the route. When the driver said he planned to rely on Google Maps, the ACP stepped in and ordered a green corridor.
“I asked the driver, ‘ Do you know the route? He told me that he would follow the Google Maps. It was peak hour. I immediately informed the control room and told them the entire route from the stadium to the hospital. Everyone was informed that the important junctions, such as Mandi House, should have proper traffic police deployment. It was then decided that a green corridor should be created,” he said.
“Green corridor means the traffic signal would be green for the entire route that the ambulance takes. Fortunately, everyone worked properly. The entire 8 km distance was covered in 11 minutes. One Delhi Capitals official was also travelling in my car, I was monitoring the entire situation, and I was getting the traffic cleared,” he added.
Not many are aware that Sanjay Singh is a former cricketer who played alongside Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he recognised the urgency of getting the player to hospital as quickly as possible.
“There’s a Delhi Police cricket team. I played for the last time in 2012. There’s one thing called the DDCA League Cricket match. Matches are played group-wise. There were ONGC and Indian Airlines teams, so Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif and Virender Sehwag all used to play. Virat Kohli was a kid back then; he used to play too. I have played cricket with all of them,” said Singh.
Singh said the Delhi Police is well-equipped to create a green corridor at short notice because of the training and preparation every officer undergoes.
“Recently, an Artificial Intelligence Programme was killed, and members from several countries had come here. Our senior officials trained us properly at that time. We can create a green corridor at any time and implement it quickly. The entire credit goes to our senior officials,” concluded Singh.