Rishabh Pant suffered a near-fatal car accident in late December last year. Thankfully, his life was saved, but the 25-year-old wicket-keeper suffered major injuries on his knees and limbs which needed surgeries.
Will Rishabh Pant play in World Cup 2023?
No. Rishabh Pant will be out of action for the rest of 2023 and thus he will miss the World Cup 2023. A BCCI official has said that the wicket-keeper needs “another 6-7 months” to start walking without crutches.
“Rishabh is recovering really well. But it is going to take another 6-7 months at least to be walking and stretching again. World Cup is a bit of a stretch for him at the moment. We just want him to recover completely before focusing on cricket again. It will take a lot of time for him to be back in competitive cricket. Rahul and Ishan are the two keepers we are looking at for now,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
KL Rahul is currently donning the gloves in the ODI team and batting in his new role at number 5, and is set to be the wicket-keeper for the World Cup 2023 as well. Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are other keeper and batting backups that Team India have.
Earlier this month, Pant came to Bangalore to start his rehab at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy.
“I am recovering very well and I’m getting better with each passing day. I came to visit the National Cricket Academy,” Pant told Delhi Capitals Media ahead of their game against RCB in IPL 2023.
While he may return to action by next year, his doing wicket-keeping will be tough to see because of the his tearing three key ligaments in his knee. Pant’s future as a wicket-keeper is uncertain now because of these injuries in his leg.
Nicholas Pooran talked with Rishabh Pant
The Uttarakhand-born Rishabh can take inspiration from West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, who also suffered an accident in 2015 that rendered him unable to walk for 6 months. Pooran, who is currently playing for Lucknow in the IPL 2023, said that he’s been in touch with Rishabh and shared his experience and gave him motivation.
“It’s very challenging. It’s one where no one understands. Sometimes, I can remember… I have been chatting with Rishabh obviously. Both of us have a really good relationship. But there’s times when you go into a place where you’re very depressed, and frustrated, because you want the healing process to happen so fast. But it’s difficult,” Pooran said.
“Sometimes you don’t see progress. In life, you want to see progress, you want it to happen so fast, but it doesn’t happen the whole time. It’s very challenging, but [you] need to believe in yourself,” the West Indian added.
