Rishabh Pant has started his rehabilitation. The star wicketkeeper-batter who got badly injured in a horrific car accident in December last year, posted photos of him on Instagram walking outside with the help of crutches on February 10 evening.
Pant was travelling from Delhi to Uttarakhand when his car collided with a divider near Roorkee. After initially being admitted in Dehradun for a few days, the star player was airlifted to Mumbai for treatment of his injuries. After undergoing a series of surgeries, he is likely to remain out of all cricketing action most of 2023.
Before the ongoing Nagpur Test, former Australia skipper Ian Chappell had said that Pant's presence would have given sleepless nights to Australia captain Pat Cummins.
"India are really going to really miss Rishabh Pant. The Australians will be happy. He is a counter attacker, the guy who keep you awake are guys who score quickly and changes game in one session. Pant was one such player," Chappell had said.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals (DC) coach Ricky Ponting wants skipper Rishabh Pant's presence in the dugout every day of the week if possible in the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL).
"You can't replace those guys, simple as that. They don't grow on trees, players like that. We've got to look at – and we already are – a replacement to come into the squad, a wicketkeeper-batsman.
If he's actually not physically fit enough to play, we'd still love to have him around," Ponting had said on the ICC Review last month.
"He's the sort of cultural leader around the group, being the captain, and that attitude and infectious smile and laugh he has is what we all love so much about him.
"If he's actually able to travel and be around the team, then I want him sitting beside me in the dugout every day of the week.
“I'll certainly be making sure, come the middle of March when we get together in Delhi and start our camps and stuff, if he's able to be there, then I want him around the whole time.”
