"I Could Not Breathe...": Rishabh Pant Reveals Getting Battered By 'Dhoni, Dhoni' Taunts

Rishabh Pant is on his road to recovery after a horrific car crash. The left-handed wicketkeeper recently posted a story of him on Instagram, sweating it out in the gym, as he looks to make his first appearance on the field of cricket since December 2022. Rishabh Pant has been sidelined since a vehicle accident at the end of 2022, but the wicketkeeper batter is slowly regaining his fitness and is expected to return to the pitch this year.

The first hint of his return to IPL came back in November when he attended a Delhi Capitals camp in Kolkata, attended by senior support staff of the team including Sourav Ganguly (director of cricket), Ricky Ponting (head coach), and Pravin Amre (assistant coach). Subsequently, Pant took part in the discussions about the retention and release of players ahead of the auction.

In a recent interview, he opened up being at the receiving at of 'MS Dhoni' taunts early in his career. He was asked about a match where the crowd targetted him after he fumbled behind the stumps.

"Sometimes you get lot of love and sometimes you don't? There was an incident in Mohali?" 

"I had just made it to the team and people were talking about being a replacement. Why were people raising such questions at a youngster. why are you comparing? There shouldn't be any comparison at all. Some has played five matches and others have played 500. It's been a long journey, so many ups and downs. I used to feel very bad. I used to go back to my room and cry. At 20-21 years of age, under stress, I could not breathe. There was pressure and I didn't know what to do. I missed a stumping in Mohali and crowd started to chant 'Dhoni, Dhoni'," Rishabh Pant said on Star Sports.

"I often find it hard to explain my relationship with Dhoni. I discuss everything with MSD. I have learnt so much from him. I discuss things with him tat I would not discuss with anybody else."

 Rishabh Pant has revealed that he feared the amputation of his right leg in the aftermath of the horrific car crash which he survived 13 months ago.

Pant was driving from Delhi to his hometown Roorkee to meet his family when his car crashed into the median divider on the road in December, 2022.

He had just returned from Bangladesh after playing a major role in India's win in the second Test in Mirpur.

"If there was any nerve damage, there was a possibility of amputation. That is when I felt scared," Pant said in Star Sports series 'Believe: To Death & Back' which documents his recovery.

"I had taken an SUV, but what I was seeing was a sedan," he quipped as he remembered his mangled vehicle.

Recounting the initial moments after the crash, the 26-year-old said he was in excruciating pain as his right knee had dislocated, turning 180 degrees to the right as he lay face down.

"There was someone around so I asked if he could help getting the leg back in the position. He helped the knee get back in place." Two persons Rajat Kumar and Nishu Kumar were able to pull Pant out of his SUV before it went up in flames.

"It was the first time I had such a feeling in life. At the time of the accident, I was aware of the wounds, but I was lucky as it could have been even more serious," he recollected.

Pant underwent initial treatment at a hospital in Dehradun and was later airlifted to Mumbai where he was under the care of a specialist consultant brought in by the BCCI.

After undergoing surgeries to reconstruct all three ligaments in his right knee, Pant did his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The big-hitter said the process is boring at best and frustrating at worst.

"I am focusing on recovery cut off from the world. It helps me in recovering fast, especially when the injury is so serious. For recovery you have to do the same thing every day. It's boring, it's irritating, it's frustrating, but you have to do it," he elaborated.

With ANI and PTI inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

Rishabh Pant MS Dhoni India Cricket Team Cricket