Rishabh Pant feared for his cricket career after bad accident

INDIA wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant revealed he feared the amputation of his right leg after being involved in a horrific car crash 13 months ago.

Pant was driving from Delhi to his hometown of Roorkee, in north India, to meet his family when his car crashed into the median divider on the road in December 2022.

He had just returned from Bangladesh after playing a major role in India’s win in the second Test in Mirpur.

“If there was any nerve damage, there was a possibility of amputation. That is when I felt scared,” Pant said in the Star Sports series Believe: To Death & Back which documents his recovery.

“I had taken an SUV, but what I was seeing was a sedan,” he said as he remembered his mangled vehicle.

Recounting the initial moments after the crash, the 26-year-old said he was in excruciating pain as his right knee had been dislocated, turning 180 degrees to the right as he lay face down. “There was someone around, so I asked if he could help getting the leg back in position. He helped the knee get back in place.”

Pant was pulled out of his SUV before it went up in flames. “It was the first time I had such a feeling in life. At the time of the accident, I was aware of the wounds, but I was lucky as it could have been even more serious,” he revealed.

Pant underwent initial treatment at a hospital in Dehradun and was later airlifted to Mumbai where he was under the care of a specialist consultant brought in by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

After undergoing surgeries to reconstruct all three ligaments in his right knee, Pant did his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The big-hitter said the process was boring at best and frustrating at worst.

“I am focusing on recovery, cut off from the world. It helps me in recovering fast, especially when the injury is so serious. For recovery you have to do the same thing every day. It’s boring, it’s irritating, it’s frustrating, but you have to do it,” he said.

Pant, who was instrumental in India’s monumental win in the Brisbane Test in 2021 that sealed a famous series win in Australia, said the doctor gave him 16 to 18 months recovery time.

“Till the time I start playing cricket, I don’t want to plan much for the future. I asked the doctor, ‘how long will it take for me to recover?’ I told him ‘everybody is speaking different things, but you will give me the most clarity’.

“He (doctor) said it would take 16 to 18 months. I told the doctor, ‘from whatever timeline you give me, I will reduce six months from it’,” said Pant.

He hopes to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Delhi Capitals this season from March.