Police say Rishabh Pant apparently dozed off at the wheel; doctors say out of danger

He has two cuts on his forehead and a ligament tear in his right knee. He has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and suffered abrasion injuries on his back, doctors said.

Dr Ashish Yagnik, Medical Superintendent of Max, said that doctors “prima facie” did not find any serious injuries on the cricketer and that he is stable.

“Only after some tests, we can tell more. As of now, he is stable and there is not much to worry about. The team of doctors is talking to him and based on what he is telling us about the injuries, he is getting evaluated. Prima facie we did not find any serious injuries. Orthopaedic and plastic surgeon doctors are attending to him,” said Yagnik.

Later in the day, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Honorary Secretary Jay Shah issued a statement that the BCCI is in constant touch with Rishabh’s family while the medical team is in close contact with 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…(At) Max Hospital, Dehradun, (Rishabh) will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries and (to) formulate his further course of treatment,” said the Board.

Haridwar SSP Ajai Singh said that as per preliminary information, Pant dozed off while driving and lost control.  “The time was 5.22 am when Rishabh Pant was returning from Delhi and on the Delhi-Roorkee highway, his car hit the divider and caught fire after it turned upside down. A Haryana roadways bus was passing and its driver Susheel Kumar helped Rishabh and called 112. Within 10 minutes, a police team reached the spot and rushed him to a nearby hospital on an ambulance,” said Singh.

Rishabh Pant was on his way to his hometown in Roorkee to surprise his mother ahead of the new year. After the incident, his mother was informed and brought to him in a police vehicle, officials said.

CCTV footage of the incident shows the speeding car losing control and swerving to its right before it rams into the divider and turns upside down. Another video, shot minutes later by a passerby, shows the car engulfed in flames and some people helping a visibly injured Pant. Haryana Roadways bus driver Susheel Kumar, who was the first person to come to the cricketer’s rescue, said that he left Haridwar around 4.25 and as he reached Gurukul Narsan and slowed down the bus, he noticed a speeding vehicle coming from the Delhi side, losing control, and jumping across the divider.

Kumar said he did not know Pant’s identity until the cricketer told them. His conductor, however, recognised Pant. “The (car’s) driver was crying for help and I turned the bus to avoid the car. I stopped the bus and jumped outside to help him. My conductor Paramjeet and some passengers also came to help. We asked the person if he was alone in the car because the car was already in flames. He said he is alone and introduced us as Rishabh Pant, a cricketer. I do not watch much cricket as I prefer kabaddi but my conductor told me he’s a player in our Indian team,” Kumar said to reporters.

According to Kumar, after the ambulance arrived in around 15-20 minutes, they helped Pant get inside. Kumar said that there were currency notes of around Rs 6-7,000 lying on the road and passengers collected the cash and handed it over to Pant. In another video, shot before he was taken to the hospital, Pant could be seen bleeding and trying to talk to those helping him.

Several people from the cricketing world have also wished Pant a speedy recovery.

Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar has announced that the bus driver, conductor and other locals who came forward to help Rishabh Pant will be awarded under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways ‘good samaritan’ scheme.

Meanwhile, Dr Sushil Nagar at Saksham hospital who treated Pant first, said that Pant was fully conscious when brought in. He said that X-ray reports suggest no bone injuries.

“There is a ligament tear on his right knee. How serious it is can only be detected after further investigation and a detailed MRI done,” he said. Ligament injuries have various grades and it can take two to six months to regain complete fitness.

“We are checking the CCTV footage and looking at other angles too,” SSP Ajai Singh added. He, however, denied reports claiming that some youths robbed cash and jewellery that Pant had in the car. He said that the police team promptly reached the spot and all jewellery and cash on Pant was handed over to his mother.