The conclusion of the Indian Premier League 2026 final on Sunday night will be remembered not just for the action on the pitch, but for a harrowing sequence of midnight emergencies on Gujarat’s roads. Hours after the Gujarat Titans squad was left stranded on the roadside when their team bus caught fire, former Australian captain Michael Clarke miraculously escaped a catastrophic highway collision that left his vehicle completely written off.
Clarke escaped with minor injuries after his car met with a severe accident on the way to the airport following the IPL 2026 final on Sunday.
The incident occurred on the same night that the Gujarat Titans’ team bus caught fire due to a suspected electrical short circuit, leaving Shubman Gill and his squad briefly stranded on the roadside before a replacement vehicle arrived.
Clarke, who was part of the tournament’s official commentary panel, was asleep in the front passenger seat when his vehicle rear-ended a large semi-trailer truck.
According to Clarke, the accident took place after midnight when the driver of his car was caught off guard by the heavy vehicle ahead.
“The driver explained to me that the brakes [brake lights] on the truck weren’t working, so my driver hit the back of the truck,” Clarke told Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
“It was a big semi-trailer, and our car had gone underneath it. The front half of the car was virtually gone.”
The impact of the collision crushed the front section of the sedan, pushing the dashboard into the cabin space.
“When we hit the truck, the front end of the car sort of pushed into both of our legs. I got away with some bruises, [but] I definitely think he had a little break in his leg,” Clarke added.
BCCI AND LOCAL SUPPORT
Despite sustaining a suspected fracture, the driver reportedly panicked over the damage to the company-owned vehicle and initially refused medical attention.
“I was really concerned because he was so scared. It wasn’t his car, he worked for the company,” Clarke noted. “I said to him, ‘You should go to hospital.’ He said, ‘No, no, no.’ I don’t know, I’m hoping he ended up going to the hospital.”
Clarke was forced to wait on the road for nearly an hour before an alternative vehicle could be arranged to transport him to the airport. He praised the local response and the prompt assistance provided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“Let me start by saying, thank God for good people in India. That’s why I made it home safely,” Clarke said. “Everyone in the BCCI has been checking in on me. They’ve been unreal, so I’m very grateful for that.”
“For me, it was more of a shock because I was bloody asleep and then woke up. To see yourself so close to being underneath a truck… it’s not the ideal way to get home, but I made my flight and I’m very fortunate,” he concluded.
– Ends
