Rishabh Pant cleared to play cricket more than one year after serious car accident
MUMBAI, India (AP) — India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has recovered from the serious injuries sustained in a car crash and can return to the Indian Premier League this month, India’s cricket board said Tuesday.
Pant was involved in a road accident in northern India in December 2022, when the car he was driving overturned and caught fire.
“After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30th, 2022, (Pant) has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming (IPL),” the BCCI said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The lucrative IPL season starts on March 22 and Pant could make an eagerly-awaited return for Delhi Capitals, the side he captains, the following day in Mohali against Punjab Kings.
The 26-year-old Pant required reconstruction surgery on his right knee following the crash. He had a fractured wrist and ankle, as well as injuries to his head and back.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah said Pant could even be in contention for India’s squad for the T20 World Cup in June.
“He is a big asset for us,” Shah said. “If he can keep (wicket), he can play the World Cup. Let’s see how he does in the IPL.”
A hard-hitting left hand batter, Pant has scored five test centuries with a batting average of 43.67, including a century when batting at No. 7 against England in 2018, and a swashbuckling 159 early the following year in Australia.
In the T20 format he has struck three fifties and has a fast-scoring strike rate of 126.37.
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