Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has called Rishabh Pant‘s return to cricket after his 2022 car accident a miracle. Shastri recalled meeting Pant in the hospital a month after the accident and fearing he might never play again.
Pant had been involved in a severe car crash while returning to his hometown of Roorkee from New Delhi, just days after playing in a two-match Test series in Bangladesh in December 2022.
After undergoing surgery and an extensive rehabilitation process, Pant made his comeback to competitive cricket in the 2024 IPL. He later played a key role in India’s victory at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“Honestly, if you had seen him you would not have given him a hope in hell to play cricket again. I will never forget it. He was in terrible shape. I went to see him in hospital a month after he was injured. He was battered and bruised, scarred all over,” Shastri was quoted as saying by news.com.au, as per a report in news agency PTI.
“He had a massive operation and had stitches all over the place. From there to simply recover and play cricket was a miracle. To then go on and play in a World Cup-winning team and be a part of the Test team is a truly remarkable achievement,” the former India all-rounder went on to add.
“If not for some good Samaritans and his own presence of mind which prompted him to break the windshield of his car, the accident could have turned fatal for him,” Shastri opined.
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In IPL 2024, while captaining Delhi Capitals (DC), Pant scored 446 runs in 13 matches, averaging 40.55 with an impressive strike rate of 155.40, including three half-centuries.
Pant’s return to Australia seemed unimaginable when he was confined to the hospital: Ravi Shastri
The Indian Test team is currently in Australia for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting in Perth in November 2022. Pant has a remarkable record in Australia in Test cricket, having scored 624 runs in 12 innings at an average of 62.40, including one century and two fifties.
“His return to Australia for this tour in form and a man Australia fears, an unthinkable prospect when he was bailed up in hospital unable to walk,” Shastri said in praise of Team India’s stumper.
“When you speak to him now the respect he has for the game is even more. He was nowhere and suddenly he is back and he values that. But I have seen him work really, really hard over the past few months to get in to the shape he is to play Test cricket,” the 62-year-old added.
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Pant (27) was one of the few positives for India during their surprising 3-0 defeat at home to New Zealand in a three-match Test series. The left-handed batter was the top run-scorer of the series, amassing 261 runs in six innings at an average of 43.50, including three half-centuries, with a best score of 99.
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