Having survived a horrific car crash last December, India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

Pant sustained multiple injuries in the near-fatal accident and has been completely away from competitive action since then. The southpaw was badly missed by Team India in the WTC final 2023, which they lost to Australia by 209 runs at The Oval last week.

While there is no clarity on his comeback yet, a report published in ESPNCricinfo suggests that Pant has surprised the BCCI and the medical staff at the NCA with his pace of recovery.

According to the report, BCCI is attempting to fast-track Rishabh’s rehab in order to get him ready for the ODI World Cup this year but the recovery process is likely to last longer.

At present, Pant is not experiencing any pain and reportedly increasing his lower-body and upper-body mobility exercises under the guidance of physio S Rajnikanth, who has been part of the Delhi Capitals support staff.

The report further stated that Rishabh Pant’s rehab includes aqua therapy sessions, light swimming, and table tennis. He is also spending time conducting interactive sessions with batches of age-group cricketers — male and female -attending training camps at the NCA.

Rishabh Pant was last seen in action during the tour of Bangladesh in December 2022. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Prasidh Krishna are also giving him company at the NCA.

As per the report, the NCA medical staff is positive about Bumrah and Iyer being available for the Asia Cup 2023, slated to be played from August 31 to September 17. Notably, both of them underwent back surgeries recently.

Bumrah had surgery in New Zealand in March. He has been out of action since September last year. On the other hand, Shreyas had to pull out of playing the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in March. He underwent surgery in London in May and is now undergoing physio work.

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)