India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, who miraculously escaped from an accident on National Highway 58 in Roorkee on December 30 and was being treated at Max Hospital in Dehradun, was on Wednesday airlifted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute.
His mother Saroj Pant and sister Sakrshi accompanied him in the air ambulance which took off from the Jolly Grant Airport on the outskirts of the state capital of Uttarakhand in the afternoon.
The decision to airlift Pant, 25, to Mumbai was taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after its medical team ruled that the ligament tears in his knee needed immediate intervention.
“Rishabh will undergo surgery and subsequent procedures for ligament tears and will continue to be monitored by the BCCI medical team throughout his recovery and rehabilitation,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“The Board will make every effort to aid and expedite the recovery process of Rishabh and will provide him with all the support he needs during this period.”
In Mumbai, Pant will be under the direct supervision of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, who has previously treated Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja besides several other Olympic athletes.
Dr Pardiwala heads the Centre for Sports Medicine, and is director, Arthroscopy & Shoulder Service, at the hospital.
Pant, a Grade A cricketer in the BCCI centrally-contracted players list, had plastic surgery to treat facial injuries and abrasions. MRI scans of the knee haven’t been possible because of the pain and swelling. Pant’s medical insurance covers his treatment, and the cost of the air ambulance was borne by the Board.
Given the nature of his injury, it is unlikely that he will return to action before this year’s IPL.
He will also miss India’s four-Test series against Australia at home, beginning next month. His appearance in the World Test Championship final in England in June, if India make it, also appears doubtful. The other big assignment this year is the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.
Pant arrived in New Delhi from Dubai in the wee hours of January 30 and was driving home to Roorkee when his Mercedes-AMG GLE43 Coupe crashed into a road divider and skidded about 200 metres on the highway before going up in flames.
The cricketer somehow managed to get out of the car without life threatening injuries.
He was taken to hospital by two youths, Rajat Kumar and Nidhu Kumar, who were coming from Muzaffarnagar and going to Uttam Sugar Mill in Libberheri area of Haridwar district, where the former is employed.
They met Pant at the hospital on Tuesday evening and returned Rs 4000 which the cricketer had given them when he was first taken to the local Saksham Hospital in an ambulance.
“Sushil Kumar, a bus driver, had called the ambulance and informed the police about the incident. We met Rishabh and his mother in hospital in Dehradun,” Rajat told reporters in Dehradun.
