Rishabh Pant to be out of action for eight more months, recovery period extends beyond 2023 World Cup

Star India cricketer Rishabh Pant’s return to the cricket field is highly anticipated by his fans all over the world. However, there’s still no certainty on the time period that the wicketkeeper-batter will take to be fully match-fit. The 25-year-old met a near fatal car accident on December 30, 2022 while travelling from Delhi to his hometown Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

Pant miraculously managed to survive the horrific car crash as he broke the window of his burning Mercedes car in time and escaped. He was recently seen at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi cheering for Delhi Capitals during their second game of the IPL 2023 against Gujarat Titans on April 4.

Pant was spotted walking with the help of crutches and according to a report in Cricbuzz, he will take a couple of weeks more to walk without any help. The report further suggests that the cricketer will take seven to eight months more to be match-fit.

However, the Southpaw is expected to make his initial return purely as a batter first and could take even longer to be fit enough to do wicket keeping.

After the horrific accident, there were widespread concerns about whether the India star will be able to play cricket again and whether he will be able to keep wickets at all. But now there’s some hope as the 25-year-old is trying his best to be back on the field as soon as possible and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is providing him with all possible medical assistance.
 
The BCCI previously said, "(It) 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." 

Pant underwent surgery for ligament tears in January and is under the supervision of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Head, the Centre for Sports Medicine, and Director - Arthroscopy & Shoulder Service at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai. The wicketkeeper-batter is likely to undergo another surgery.

Pant last represented India during the second Test vs Bangladesh in December and will be dearly missed by the team as they take part in two major ICC tournaments in 2023 namely the World Test Championship Final in June and the ODI World Cup in October-November which will be hosted by India. The exact time of his return will only get clear once he goes to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab.