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India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is still several weeks away from a possible return to competitive cricket. Ahead of his expected return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as Delhi Capitals’ (DC) captain, Pant recalled details of his accident and what followed after.
During an interview with Star Sports, Pant revealed thanked Rajat Kumar and Nishu Kumar, who pulled him out of the car that went up in flames after hitting the divider. Someone helped him with the dislocated right knee as well. However, there was a point when he felt scared after realizing that he may lose his leg.
"There was someone around so I asked if he could help getting the leg back in the position. He helped the knee get back in place," he said.
“If there was any nerve damage, there was a possibility of amputation. That is when I felt scared.”
Pant also saw a funny side of the accident as he said, “I had taken an SUV, but what I was seeing was a sedan.”
Not afraid to drive again
Grateful for 'a second life', Pant is not afraid of driving again even though he has been told my many to not get behind the wheel.
“I will still drive because I love to," he said. "Just because there was a setback doesn't mean that you do not do those things ever again. Nowadays I am told, 'Yaar, don't drive bilkul [at all].' But no one was more scared than me. No one was more upset than me.
"As a human being, I want to add things to my life. Not by eliminating what I like doing. The accident is a setback. How do you overcome that? By having the belief. That belief keeps growing and at times can border on the obsessive. But if you have belief in yourself, you can achieve anything."
Focusing on recovery
The 26-year-old has been optimistic throughout his journey to regain fitness. He also said that he told the doctor that he will recover six months before the expected time.
"I am focusing on recovery cut off from the world," the left-handed batter said. "It helps me in recovering fast, especially when the injury is so serious. For recovery, you have to do the same thing every day. It's boring, it's irritating, it's frustrating, but you have to do it.
"Till the time I start playing cricket, I don't want to plan much for the future. I asked the doctor how long it would take for me to recover. I told him that everybody is speaking different things, but you will give me the most clarity about it. He said it would take 16 to 18 months. I told the doctor that whatever timeline he gave me, I would reduce six months from it."
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