It is also understood that given the nature of the injuries, Pant is expected to take “more than four months” to recover and about six months to return to the field. This means the star wicketkeeper batsman will miss the white ball series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the home test series against Australia and the IPL.
A top BCCI official, who is the liaison with the board’s medical experts, said Pant’s ligament tear is similar to that suffered by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja last year.
“Each player’s body is different, but looking at his (Pant) report, our doctors say that the ligament injury is similar to Jadeja’s. According to the reports we received from Dehradun, we were told that Pant was may need surgery. It looks like he will need more than four months to recover,” the official said The Indian Express.
“The final of the World Test Championship is in England in June. So if India qualifies for that, that is realistically what we are aiming for,” said the official on Pants return to the team. India are currently second in the Test championship table behind Australia.
Rishabh Pant was involved in an accident in Uttarakhand on Friday morning (Source: AP)
Pant’s move to Mumbai was also because the BCCI was keen for their panel of doctors to perform a full-body MRI scan on him as a precautionary measure to rule out further complications.
The official disclosed the details of the move and said: “BCCI Secretary Jay Shah spoke to Rishabh’s mother and made it clear to her that it would be best for him if he is treated by the medical team of the BCCI in Mumbai. Once the family got on the same wavelength as us, we arranged for an air ambulance to take him to Mumbai.”
Meanwhile, Jay Shah said in a press release, “Rishabh will undergo surgery and subsequent procedures for ligament rupture and will continue to be supervised by the BCCI Medical Team during his recovery and rehabilitation.”
Describing the expected line of treatment, another BCCI official said Pant will have another MRI scan of his knee, ligament, spine, spine and head. The all-format player is under the direct supervision of Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, Chief of the Center for Sports Medicine and Director of Arthroscopy and Shoulder Service at Ambani Hospital. Pardiwala is also on the BCCI’s physician panel. Indian board physiotherapist Nitin Patel will also keep an eye on Pant’s situation.
When contacted, BCCI secretary Shah told The Indian Express that the board will provide any assistance needed. “Rishabh is a very important player and we have been closely monitoring his situation… The BCCI will pay Pant’s medical expenses and provide all assistance,” said Shah.
The wave of visitors Pant had received in Dehradun was another reason for the move to the hospital.
Pant had suffered multiple injuries when his car collided with a roadblock on the Delhi-Dehradun highway last Friday. The 25-year-old, who went from Delhi to his home in Roorkee in Uttarakhand, was first taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Dehradun.