If reports are to be believed then the Indian cricket team and BCCI are in for a huge setback as Rishabh Pant is set to miss all cricket in 2023 and perhaps some more in 2024 as well, as he recuperates from the injuries he suffered in a serious car crash on December 30, 2022.

Pant’s car crashed when he was on his way to his home in Uttarakhand and he was first treated in a hospital in Dehradun and then airlifted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai, where he underwent surgeries on his knee which suffered multiple torn ligaments.  

Now as per a report in News18 Cricketnext, due to the nature of the injuries, Rishabh Pant suffered in the accident, he’ll need a lot of recovery time and could miss cricket for 18 months or so.

This most likely rules him out of this year’s IPL, Asia Cup, 50-over World Cup, the entire World Test Championship cycle, potentially a WTC Final too, half of next year’s World Test Championship cycle, IPL 2024, and the T20 World Cup in June next year.

Rishabh Pant stands on feet for first time after knee surgery; recovering well- Report

Pant will continue to be treated in Mumbai and will then head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for the long rehab. His knee suffered the most damage, and Pant has undergone two surgeries already and is slated for probably more after he heals from these two.

“We need to understand that he is a keeper so his movements – regular squatting, sideways movements and all – put a lot of load on the knee. We can’t rush with it and it is going to take a lot of time,” a source close to the developments told News18 Cricketnext.

This is potentially a huge setback for the Indian team which is preparing for a bumper home season and for ICC events as well. Pant has been a genuine match-winner for the team in the Test arena and was flourishing in shorter formats as well.

In absence of Pant, at least in the longest format, plenty of combinations are likely to be put to test as his exploits with the bat allowed the captain and management to field five specialist bowlers. 

Rishabh Pant likely to be out of action for majority of 2023 including ODI World Cup: Report

For now, selectors have shown faith in KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan as wicketkeepers in Tests for the first two matches of the upcoming Australia series, while KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are the options in ODIs and T20Is.

For Pant’s IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals, his absence will a major issue as he not only keeps wickets for them but is also their captain. So now, they need to find a new captain for the upcoming IPL season, but also try to find balance in the side.

With Pant slated to miss the IPL 2023, they only have Phil Salt as a genuine keeping option, but being an overseas player, it hampers their team balance. Another option is giving the gloves to Sarfaraz Khan, who kept wickets for Mumbai in the domestic T20 trophy, but whether the management trusts him enough is another question.

David Warner is being looked at as the front-runner for the captaincy option.

(News18 Cricketnext report)