Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's return to action might go on for more than a year, and extend as far as January, missing the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to be hosted in India, a report on Cricbuzz said on Tuesday, April 25.
The report added that even if he does make it back by January 2024, it will be considered miraculous given the seriousness of his injuries.
Pant was the victim of a major road accident on December 30, 2022, when he was travelling from Delhi to Roorkee. His car hit a divider at the Narsan border, leading to serious injuries to the Indian cricketer. The accident occurred around 5:15 am on December 30 and Pant was rushed to Saksham Hospital in Roorkee. The Indian cricketer was then referred to Max Super Speciality Hospital in Dehradun.
Since then, he has undergone multiple surgeries as doubts were raised on whether he would even be able to make a return to competitive cricket after his accident. However, the reports add that he is recovering faster than earlier thought but it will take more than seven to eight months to play the sport professionally.
Even then, he could take some time to do wicketkeeping but as a batter, which is still one of his best.
Recently, the Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper was seen during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He was walking with the help of crutches and those close to him revealed that he will take at least a couple of weeks to walk without any help.
The exact time of his return will only be known only after he goes to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab.
Going by Pant's extent of injuries, he will be missing most of the tournaments this year that the Indian team will be a part of. He will not be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, Asia Cup 2023 and the upcoming 50-over World Cup which will be played later this year.
MORE ON SPORTSTAK
