Axar Patel, a teammate of Rishabh Pant in both the Indian cricket team and Delhi Capitals (DC), shared that he felt a sense of dread when he first learned about the wicketkeeper-batsman’s harrowing car accident.
The cricket community and fans were taken aback on December 30, 2022, by the shocking news of the Indian wicketkeeper’s accident. Rishabh Pant suffered multiple injuries in a terrifying car crash, with the vehicle he was driving colliding with a divider on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.
Axar Patel Revealed Horrific Details About Rishabh Pant’s Accident
In a video shared on the Delhi Capitals’ official social media handle, Axar Patel reminisced about his initial thoughts upon hearing about the accident involving his franchise captain.
“Subah 7 ya 8 baje mere phone pe ring baji. Pratima di (Ishant Sharma’s wife) ka phone aya. Pratima di ne mujhe pucha ki ‘teri Rishabh se kab baat hui thi last?’ Mene bola ‘nahi, kal karne wala tha lekin kal nahi ki mene’. ‘Are uski mummy ka number ho toh mereko send kar, uska accident ho gaya hai’. Matlab pehla thought mereko aaya ki ye bhai gaya.”
(which roughly translates to: Early morning, I got a call from Pratima di [Ishant Sharma’s wife]. She asked me when I last spoke to Pant. I told her that I was about to talk to him yesterday, but I did not. She asked for Pant’s mother’s contact number as he had met with an accident. At that point, I feared the worst).”
As a result of the injuries sustained in the car accident, Pant had to undergo surgery. During a recent interview, he acknowledged that he was fortunate to survive the startling car crash.
In the DC video, Axar Patel disclosed that he received calls from Shardul Thakur and even the BCCI, as everyone thought he was the last person to be in touch with Pant. Subsequently, Axar contacted the keeper-batsman’s manager for an update.
He further mentioned that after learning from the cricketer’s manager that Pant was safe, he felt a sense of relief. He said:
Not enough words to describe the energy of the place. Didn’t feel like leaving the temple. Unbelievable positive energy & spiritual energy. 🤍 🤍 pic.twitter.com/UAroS4QzfX
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) November 3, 2023
“BCCI, Shardul everyone started calling me. Everyone felt that I was the last one to speak to him. I called him (Pant’s manager) and he said that everything is fine. ‘How much damage his body has suffered due to injuries, we don’t know, but he’s safe’. After that, I ended the call and took a deep breath. Now, I was assured that he would fight. I know he is a fighter,”
Pant continues to share regular updates from his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on his social media profiles. According to reports, there is a likelihood that he will stage a comeback before the T20 World Cup in the UAE and the West Indies next year.
