NEW DELHI: Former India coach Ravi Shastri calls Rishabh Pant’s recovery from a serious car accident a “miracle”. Pant suffered significant injuries in December 2022. He has since returned to playing cricket, participating in the IPL, T20 World Cup and Test matches.
Shastri visited Pant in the hospital a month after the accident. He describes Pant’s condition as severe. “Honestly, if you had seen him, you would not have given him a hope in hell to play cricket again,” Shastri said. “He was in terrible shape—battered, bruised, scarred all over. He had undergone a massive operation and had stitches everywhere. To go from there to not just recover but to play cricket again is a miracle.”
Pant’s return includes playing on the World Cup-winning Indian team and rejoining the Test team. Shastri notes that Pant’s performance in Australia, where he averaged 62 runs, makes him a player to be feared.
Pant himself has talked about the accident, which happened while driving from New Delhi to Roorkee. He credits “something spiritual” and quick thinking for his survival, which involved breaking a car window to escape. Pant required reconstructive surgery on three knee ligaments. He told doctors he would recover faster than their estimations.
Shastri believes this experience has changed Pant’s view of cricket and life. He sees Pant placing a high value on playing now.