Rishabh Pant injured in accident near Roorkee after car collides with divider, condition stable 

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was injured after a car accident that took place near Roorkee, Uttarakhand on Friday (December 30) morning.

As per the official BCCI update, the cricketer has suffered multiple injuries - two cuts on his forehead and a ligament tear in his right knee. He has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back. The cricketer's condition is stable.

The 25-year-old batter met with the accident after his car collided with a divider on the Delhi-Dehradun highway while he was traveling from Uttarakhand to Delhi. The keeper-batter was alone in the car at the time of the accident and broke a window to escape.

He was admitted to Saksham Hospital Multispecialty and Trauma Centre where he was treated for impact injuries. Pant was subsequently shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun.

BCCI's official statement on Pant's accident read:

"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 statement added that the cricket board is in constant touch with Pant's family while the medical team is in close contact with the doctors currently treating him. The BCCI statement continued:

"The Board will see to it that Rishabh receives the best possible medical care and gets all the support he needs to come out of this traumatic phase."

Earlier, the Director General of Uttarakhand Police, Ashok Kumar, told the media that the Indian cricketer's car met with an accident at around 5:30 am. Kumar said:

"The incident took place at Mohammedpur Jat near Roorkee. According to what Pant said, he dozed off while driving, and as a result the car collided with the divider and caught fire."

According to some eyewitnesses, Pant’s car collided with the railing and caught fire, which was brought under control with much difficulty.

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“I thought the car would flip under the bus” - Driver who rescued Rishabh Pant

A Haryana Roadways bus driver was among those who helped Pant come out of his Mercedes SUV after it caught fire, having crashed into a divider. The bus driver, Sushil Mann, told NDTV that the car was coming at high speed from the opposite direction. He stated:

"I put my bus on the side and quickly ran towards the divider. I thought the car would flip under the bus as it was turning over and over before it stopped. The driver (Mr Pant) was half out of the window. He told me he's a cricketer.”

Mann added that Pant requested him to call his mother, but her phone was switched off. He stated that he did not recognize the accident victim since he doesn’t follow cricket. Mann continued:

"I don't watch cricket and I didn't know this is Rishabh Pant is. But others in my bus recognised him. After removing Rishabh, I quickly searched the car to check if anyone else was there. I took out his blue bag and ₹ 7,000-Rs 8,000 rupees from the car and gave it to him in the ambulance.”

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Rishabh Pant was left out of Sri Lanka series

Pant was not chosen in the Indian team for the upcoming white ball series against Sri Lanka at home. While there was no official confirmation about his absence, some reports claimed that he was given a break due to a niggle and was asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

The keeper-batter has been struggling for form in white ball cricket for a while. He was part of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. However, he warmed the bench for most part of the competition.

Pant was included in the playing XI for India’s last Super 12 game against Zimbabwe but was dismissed for 3. The left-hander managed only six in the semifinal against England, which the Men in Blue lost by ten wickets.

Subsequently, Pant had a poor tour of New Zealand, where he registered scores of 6, 11, 15 and 10. The keeper-batter, though, continued his impressive run in Test matches. He was one of the star performers with the bat as India beat Bangladesh 2-0 in a two-match series. The left-hander scored 46 in the first Test in Chattogram and 93 & 9 in the second in Dhaka.

Having made his international debut in 2017, Pant has represented India in 33 Tests, 30 ODIs and 66 T20Is. He also captains Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).