Star India batter Rishabh Pant was airlifted to Mumbai from a Dehradun hospital on Wednesday evening for the treatment of ligament injuries in the knee and ankle he has suffered in a car crash.
Pant (25), who was injured in a car crash on December 30, was taken to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in suburban Andheri upon arrival, sources said. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to shift Pant to Mumbai by air ambulance as he was not in a position to fly by a commercial airline. The cricketer will be treated by noted sports orthopaedic surgeon Dinshaw Pardiwala.
Pant was heading to his hometown Roorkee when the car he was driving hit a central divider, flipped over and caught fire in Uttarakhand in the early hours on Friday.
Pant suffered cuts on his forehead, and injuries on his back, knee and ankle.
The MRIs of his injured knee and ankle could not be performed as there was extensive swelling and hence the degree of tear is yet to be ascertained.
"Rishabh will undergo surgery and subsequent procedures for ligament tears and will continue to be monitored by the BCCI medical team throughout his recovery and rehabilitation," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
Pant was part of the India Test squad that sealed a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh last month, but was not picked for the limited overs series against Sri Lanka.
Pant will miss the Test series against Australia and also the Indian Premier League.
