Rishabh Pant Undergoes Ligament Surgery; Will He Miss IPL & World Cup?

Mumbai: Rishabh Pant has undergone knee surgery at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here.

The Team India wicketkeeper-batsman, who was involved in a near-fatal car accident near Roorkee last week, is recovering well post Friday’s surgery to repair a torn ligament, reported PTI.

“Rishabh Pant has successfully undergone a knee ligament surgery on Friday. He is under observation. Further course of action and rehabilitation will be advised by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and followed up by BCCI sports science and medical team,” the news agency quoted a BCCI source as saying.

Pant, who crashed his Mercedes into a divider early on December 30, was treated at Dehradun’s Max Hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai three days ago.

Even as Pant recovers, there is speculation over how long he will be out of cricket.

Some medical experts are of the opinion that Pant could be out for 4-5 months, which would rule him out of next month’s crucial Test series versus Australia at home and the IPL.

But if it’s a serious ligament injury, a sportsperson may take 8-9 months or more to recuperate and return to full fitness. In such a scenario, the swashbuckling southpaw could miss the Asia Cup and 50-over World Cup in India as well.

“Every player’s body is different but looking at his (Rishabh Pant) report, our doctors say the ligament injury is like the one (Ravindra) Jadeja suffered. As per the reports we received from Dehradun, we were told that Pant would need surgery as early as possible. It looks like he will take more than six months to recover,” The Indian Express quoted a BCCI official as saying.

Allrounder Jadeja, who suffered a similar ligament tear last September, is yet to make full recovery and had to miss the T20 World Cup and multiple bilateral series.