India woke up to the shocking news of Rishabh Pant's horrific car accident on Friday. The wicketkeeper-batter had a miraculous escape when his luxury car crashed into a road divider and caught fire after he dozed off at the wheel on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in the early hours of Friday. The 25-year-old, who was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother, suffered injuries on his head, back and feet but is in a stable condition following the accident in Manglaur in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district around 5.30 am, police said. Pant is currently admitted in a hospital in Dehradun.
According to an ESPNCricinfo report, the results of Rishabh Pant's MRI of the brain and spinal cord has returned as 'normal.' He has also undergone plastic surgery intervention for facial injuries, lacerated wounds and abrasions. Pant will have an MRI on his ankle and knee on Saturday as there was pain and swelling on Friday.
The report added that the doctors at Max Hospital in Dehradun, where Pant is admitted, have given him "above knee splintage ... for suspected right knee ligament injury, and suspected right ankle ligament injury". The latest medical bulletin from the hospital said that Pant is "stable, conscious and oriented".
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has provided an update on the health condition of the 25-year-old cricketer. Pant has two cuts on forehead and a ligament tear in right knee but is currently stable, read a statement from the cricket body.
"India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant met with a car accident early on Friday morning near Roorkee, Uttarakhand. He was admitted to Saksham Hospital Multispecialty and Trauma Centre where he was treated for impact injuries. Rishabh has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee and has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back," the BCCI statement read.
"Rishabh's condition remains stable, and he has now been shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun, where he will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries and formulate his further course of treatment."
"The BCCI is in constant touch with Rishabh's family while the Medical Team is in close contact with the doctors currently treating Rishabh. The Board will see to it that Rishabh receives the best possible medical care and gets all the support he needs to come out of this traumatic phase," the statement added.
Pant, who was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother, dozed off while driving, which resulted in the accident. He had to break the windscreen of the car to escape after the vehicle caught fire. The driver and other staff of a Haryana Roadways bus passing by helped the cricketer get out of the burning Mercedes Benz, said Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh. The car was completely charred and reduced to a mangled heap. Pant, who was alone in the car, dozed off and the car hit the divider before bursting into flames, he said.
Director General of Uttarakhand Police, Ashok Kumar, has confirmed that the cricketer was alone in the car at the time of the accident and broke the windscreen to escape from the vehicle after it caught fire.