Rishabh Pant hailed by those behind his recovery: ‘ACL, PCL.you name it, and he didn’t have it’

Featuring medical experts and the those who helped his rehab at the National Cricket Academy, the series elaborates on the nature of the injuries Pant sustained in a car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.

“Talking about the right knee, none of the ligaments were spared during that accident. You talk about ACL, PCL, lateral collateral ligament, medial collateral ligament, popliteus muscle, as well as part of the quadriceps, you name it and he didn’t have it,” says Dhananjay Kaushik, physiotherapist at the NCA.

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting will hope Rishabh Pant is back at his firing-on-all-cylinders best in the upcoming IPL 2024 season (PTI).

“I think if there’s anyone who could’ve made a comeback, it’s Rishabh. With the kind of attitude he’s got, the way he takes things in his stride,” adds Kaushik.

Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, who treated Pant at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai, also shared his conversation with Pant, in which he narrated the severity of the injury to the Indian keeper batter. “If you do get back to competitive cricket, that will be a miracle. After a high velocity knee dislocation, with this kind of situation. That’s when he said, ‘I’m a miracle man’.”

Pant, who last featured in a competitive game in December 2022, played some practice games and will be available for Delhi Capitals’ opening match against Punjab Kings at Mohali which is scheduled for March 23, with the T20 World Cup on the horizon as well. “I feel very close to normal,” he concedes in the recent video shared by the BCCI.

The 26-year-old had been named captain of the franchise during the 2021 season and continued in his role the next season before missing out owing to his injuries in 2023.