Rajat Kumar and Nishu Kumar didn’t know Rishabh Pant was until that morning. But when they saw the Indian wicketkeeper’s car crashing on the highway, they played a big role in ensuring his safety. The two men, who work at a factory nearby, dragged Rishabh out of the car and made an important decision to take him to a nearby hospital quickly.
And now, Rajat and Nishu drive scooters gifted by Pant, as he has made a successful return to playing cricket. In a video posted by 7Cricket, journalist Bharat Sundaresan caught up with the duo at the spot of the incident.
The two people who saved Rishabh Pant’s life after his accident had no idea who he was.@beastieboy07 travels back to India to retrace the steps from Pant’s accident to his return, but also much more than that.
The tale of Rishabh’s recovery, from those closest to him 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UuzaJBN0QT
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) November 23, 2024
The near-fatal accident near Roorkee, Uttarakhand had left Pant with a ligament tear in his right knee and two cuts on his forehead and the 26-year-old has remained out of competitive cricket for more than a year.
Umesh Kumar, an independent MLA from Uttarakhand to whom Rishabh Pant’s mother had turned for help in the morning after the horrendous car accident, had told The Indian Express that the two men played a crucial role in getting Pant the right attention on time: “Those two boys were god sent. They saved Rishabh’s life. The decision to take him to Dehradun also saved his life.”
Pant’s knee hung almost 90 degrees to normal position at the accident site and he needed help to get them straightened to even scramble out of the car. Pant’s childhood coach Devender Sharma, who also features in 7Cricket’s video piece, remembered the plight of Pant at the hospital.
“The muscles were hanging out of his body. From the back neck to the lower waist you could see his bone. It took five hours to put on the bandage. He was given anaesthesia twice in the process. His body looked like a piece of wood, peeled completely,” Sharma had said.
Also watch: On Fox Cricket, before the start of the first day’s play, broadcaster Mark Howard caught up with Pant, who spoke about the comeback from that horrific injury. Ravi Shastri and former DC teammate David Warner also weighed in with their thoughts on Pant’s character.
Read: The Rishabh Pant comeback story: From shouting in pain in Dehradun hospital to his return at IPL 2024
