NEWS
Follow UsThe results of Rishabh Pant's MRI of the brain and spine are normal, ESPNcricinfo reported on Friday evening. However, MRI scans of his ankle and knee will be done on Saturday because of pain and swelling in those areas.
The wicketkeeper-batter also underwent plastic surgery to manage his facial injuries, deep cuts and abrasions he suffered during a major car crash on Friday morning. Pant is now "stable, conscious and oriented".
He was hospitalized after being involved in a car accident near Roorkee. The 25-year-old, who is reportedly said to have been driving to his home overnight, met with an accident between Manglaur and Narsan in Haridwar district in the early hours of Friday, December 30th.
"Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant's car met with an accident at around 5:30 am. The incident took place at Mohammedpur Jat near Roorkee … the car collided with the divider and caught fire. He was moved to the Roorkee hospital from where he has now been shifted to Dehradun," Director General of Uttarakhand Police, Ashok Kumar, was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The secretary of the BCCI, Jay Shah, confirmed that Pant was stable and was in the process of undergoing scans.
"My thoughts and prayers are with Rishabh Pant as he fights his way back to recovery. I have spoken to his family and the doctors treating him. Rishabh is stable and undergoing scans. We are closely monitoring his progress and will provide him with all the necessary support," Shah had tweeted at 11:32 AM in the morning.
In an official statement, the BCCI provided an update on the injuries sustained by Pant.
"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 BCCI revealed in the statement.
"The BCCI is in constant touch with Rishabh’s family while the Medical Team is in close contact with the doctors currently treating Rishabh. 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."
Pant was rescued by a Haryana Roadways employee Sushil Kumar, who was driving a passenger bus on the other side of the road. "I am a driver with Haryana Roadways, Panipat depot. Our bus left Haridwar at 4.25 in the morning. I was on my way when I saw a car being driven at a lot of speed get off balance and crash into the divider," Kumar told Hindustan Times.
"After the impact, the car landed on the wrong side of the road - the one that goes to Delhi. The car had screeched onto the second lane of the road, seeing which I immediately applied the brakes. The car had already caught sparks so I and the conductor rushed to get him out of the car. By then the fire has started. Then, three more people came running and got him on a safe side.
"I called the National Highway, no one answered. Then I rang up the police and the conductor called for an ambulance. We kept asking him he is he fine. Offered him some water. After regrouping, he told us he is Rishabh Pant. I don't follow cricket so I didn't know who he was but my conductor [Paramjeet] then told me 'Sushil... he is an India cricketer'.
"He gave us his mother's number. We called her but her phone was switched off. The ambulance arrived after 15 minutes and we got in him … I asked him if he was alone in the car. He said there is no one."
Pant featured in the recently-concluded two-Test series against Bangladesh, starring with the bat in the second Test in Mirpur, but was left out of the squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The 25-year-old was set to undergo strength training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru ahead of the crucial four-Test series against Australia.
(Developing story)
