The Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, who escaped life-threatening injuries in a gruesome car crash on December 30, has now been airlifted to a hospital in Mumbai. It is understood that the southpaw underwent urgent surgery on one of his knee ligament injuries, which is why he was shifted from Dehradun to Mumbai on January 4.
According to the latest reports, the medical experts at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai have claimed that the ligament tear is similar to the one that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja picked up last year. This essentially means that the southpaw is likely to miss competitive cricket for at least six months.
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Describing the same, an anonymous BCCI official as per the quotes in The Indian Express said, “Every player’s body is different but looking at his (Rishabh Pant) report, our doctors say the ligament injury is like the one (Ravindra) Jadeja suffered. As per the reports we received from Dehradun, we were told that Pant would need surgery as early as possible. It looks like he will take more than four months to recover.”
India star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also been rehabilitating a similar ligament tear which kept him out of action for a good part of last year. Jadeja had to pull out of Asia Cup 2022 during the event and did not feature in the T20 World Cup 2022 as he was recovering in that period.
While the severity of Pant’s tear is unclear, the southpaw will be expected to miss the upcoming IPL addition and also the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in February-March. However, if things go as planned, the southpaw will aim to mark his return to the side for the Asia Cup 2023.
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BCCI is yet to provide an official confirmation on the extent of the injury. The wicketkeeper-batter was on his way to see his mother in Roorkee in Uttarakhand when his car crashed into a road divider early morning. The governing body has provided support to the cricketer, including the expense of the air ambulance utilized for shifting him from Dehradun to Mumbai.
