Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant met with a horrific car accident in the wee hours on Friday (December 30) while going to his hometown Roorkee from Delhi.
Pant was on the way to meet his family before he would have checked into the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a knee-strengthening rehabilitation programme for two weeks.
The southpaw dozed off while driving and lost control of his Mercedes car, ramming it into the divider and causing the crash on Delhi-Dehradun expressway.
Luckily for Rishabh, a Haryana Roadways bus driver and conductor came to his rescue immediately and the cricketer is currently being treated at a private hospital in Dehradun.
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After the news of his accident went viral, Pant received wishes for a speedy recovery from across the cricketing world.
Legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev had an emotional reaction to the incident and he thanked god for Rishabh Pant's stable condition.
“This is a learning. When I was still an up-and-coming cricketer, I faced a motorcycle accident. From that day onwards, my brother didn't even let me touch the motorbike. I'm just thankful to god that Rishabh Pant is safe,” Kapil told ABP News.
The World Cup-winning India skipper also advised the cricketers to take care of themselves, saying that Pant could easily hire a driver instead of driving the car himself.
“Yes, you have a good-looking car with great speeds but you have to be careful. You can easily afford a driver, you don't have to drive it alone. I understand that one has hobbies or even passion for such things, it's natural to have it at his age, but you also have responsibilities. Only you can take care of yourself. You have to decide things for yourself,” he added.
After the accident, the BCCI released an official statement, providing an update on Rishabh’s condition and the list of injuries he suffered.
“Rishabh has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee and has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back. Rishabh’s condition remains stable, and he has now been shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun, where he will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries and formulate his further course of treatment,” the board statement read.