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India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant met with a horrific car accident on Friday (December 30). Apparently his car crashed into a roadside divider near Roorkee when Pant was going to surprise his mother for the New Year. The accident occurred around 5.30 am when Pant's car banged into the divider of the road and flipped over before catching fire. He was driving towards his hometown Roorkee in Uttarakhand from Delhi.
Pant suffered cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his knee and several other injuries on his wrist, legs, and back, according to an official statement.
Going by the intensity of Pant's injuries, he is likely to be out of action from cricket for atleast six months. And with the all-important four-match Test series against Australia in February, India will be in lookout for a new wicketkeeper-batter in Pant's absence.
KS Bharat's name could pop up as one of the choices for Pant's replacement but former India selector Saba Karim has a different opinion on the matter. He thinks Bharat might not be apt replacement for Pant, in fact sees a good prospect in Ishan Kishan due to his tendency to score quickly like Pant.
“I agree that KS Bharat is being groomed for the Test keeping role. But with all due respect to him, I feel Ishan Kishan is more suitable as an ideal replacement for Pant, considering the kind of role that Pant was playing in the Test team. He is playing the Ranji Trophy and has scored a hundred at quick pace,” Karim told India News.
The young turk Kishan took the cricketing world after hammering a scintillating double century in the third ODI against Bangladesh and since then he has become one of the favourites to open the Indian innings with skipper Rohit Sharma in limited overs cricket. However he is yet to debut in Tests however he is a regular for Jharkhand, whenever available, in the Ranji Trophy. Of late he smashed a century against Kerala just days after he had belted the double ton.
“We were winning Tests due to Pant’s presence because not only was he playing match-winning knocks, but was doing them at a quick pace. This was transferring pressure on the opposition, while also giving bowlers time to take 20 wickets. Kishan hasn’t played red-ball cricket for India A, but he has been playing domestic red-ball cricket for a few years,” Karim concluded.
India's schedule for four-match Test series against Australia
1st Test (Nagpur) - February 9-13
2nd Test (Delhi) - February 17-21
3rd Test (Dharmshala) - March 1-5
4th Test (Ahmedabad) - March 9-13
1st ODI (Mumbai) - March 17
2nd ODI (Vishakhapatnam) – March 19
3rd ODI (Chennai) – March 22
