Rishabh Pant Forever Grateful & Indebted To ‘2 Heroes’; Check His First Tweets After Car Crash

Mumbai: Rishabh Pant will be ‘forever grateful and indebted’ to the ‘two heroes’ who helped him after the horrific car crash and ensured he reached the hospital for treatment.

“I may not have been able to thank everyone individually, but I must acknowledge these two heroes who helped me during my accident and ensured I got to the hospital safely. Rajat Kumar & Nishu Kumar, Thank you. I’ll be forever grateful and indebted,” Pant tweeted on Monday.

The driver and conductor of a Haryana Roadways bus brought Pant out of his Mercedes which crashed into a divider near Roorkee on December 30 and caught fire.

In his first posts on social media since the near-fatal accident, the Team India wicketkeeper-batsman took to Twitter to thank his fans, well-wishers and the BCCI even as he recovers from a ligament surgery.

“I am humbled and grateful for all the support and good wishes. I am glad to let you know that my surgery was a success. The road to recovery has begun and I am ready for the challenges ahead. Thank you to the @BCCI, @JayShah & government authorities for their incredible support,” Pant wrote on Twitter.

“From the bottom of my heart, I also would like to thank all my fans, teammates, doctors and the physios for your kind words and encouragement. Looking forward to see you all on the field,” he added.

Pant, who was alone in the car, had dozed off and tried to avoid a pothole when he lost control of the car. He was first taken to a district hospital before being shifted to Dehradun’s Max Hospital. He was later airlifted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Hospital.

According to a recent ESPNcricinfo report, Pant has torn three key ligaments in his knee, two of which were reconstructed recently while surgery on the third is expected after six weeks.

While Pant is certain to miss the upcoming four-Test home series against Australia and the IPL, his availability for the ODI World Cup looks doubtful too. India will host the 2023 World Cup in October-December.