'Am I ever....': Surgeon reveals Rishabh Pant's first question after horrific car accident in 2022

Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, Rishabh Pant's surgeon, reflected on the rehabilitation journey of the Indian wicketkeeper, who has made a complete recovery following a car accident. Pant was involved in a serious incident in December 2022 while traveling from Delhi to his hometown, where his car collided with a divider, leaving him in a critical state.

As a result of the accident, Pant dislocated his right knee and sustained several other injuries, which kept him off the field for approximately 16 months. In an interview with the Telegraph, Pardiwala remarked that Pant was incredibly fortunate to have survived and to have maintained blood flow to his right leg despite the severity of his injuries.

"To be in an accident like this, where the car actually overturns and blows up, the risk of death is extremely high," said Pardiwala

"When your knee dislocates, and all the ligaments break, there's a high possibility of the nerve or the main blood vessel also being injured. If the blood vessel gets injured, you typically have about four to six hours to restore the blood supply.

"Otherwise, there's a risk of losing your limb. The fact that his blood vessel wasn't injured despite having a severe high-velocity knee dislocation was extremely lucky," said Pardiwala.

Pardiwala mentioned that the initial question Pant asked upon arriving at the hospital was, "Am I ever going to be able to play again?"

The surgeon indicated that Pant required a complete reconstruction of his right knee due to the severity of the injuries he had suffered.

"We had a lengthy discussion about the fact that these are grievous injuries – we would need to reconstruct the entire knee. Once we reconstruct the entire knee, we’re going to have to then work through a whole process of letting it heal, letting it recover, then get back the basic functions – the range, the strength and the stability," said Pardiwala.

Pant made his comeback to the cricket field in IPL 2024, accumulating 446 runs across 13 matches. This performance secured him a spot in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, which ultimately clinched the title. Additionally, Pant made an impressive return to the Test arena, where he was appointed as India's new vice-captain prior to the England tour.

Also read| IND vs ENG: After Leeds loss, India bring PBKS spinner in training session; sparks speculations of big change in playing XI for 2nd Test