India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant ‘lucky to survive’ after serious car accident

The India cricketer Rishabh Pant was in a stable condition on Friday after suffering multiple injuries when his car hit a central divider, flipped over and caught fire in the early hours of the morning.

Police said the wicketkeeper-batsman, who was alone in the car when it crashed between Mangalaur and Nursan, close to his hometown of Roorkee in the northern state of Uttarakhand, had lost control of the vehicle when he “dozed off”.

“Pant sustained injuries on his forehead, a hand and right knee. However, he is conscious and able to talk,” Supt Swapn Kishor Singh was quoted as saying in a report by the Times of India. “The car he was driving was completely burnt. He is lucky to survive the severe accident.”

Multiple reports in Indian media said that after Pant’s car collided with the traffic divider the player had to break open a window to escape the vehicle, which was engulfed in flames. Photographs of the crash showed extensive impact and fire damage to the car.

India’s cricket board, the BCCI, said in a statement the 25-year-old had suffered cuts to his forehead, torn a ligament in his right knee and hurt his right wrist, ankle and toe. He also had abrasion injuries on his back, it said.

“Rishabh’s condition remains stable, and he has now been shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun, where he will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries and formulate his further course of treatment,” the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah said. The BCCI’s medical team was in touch with doctors treating the player.

“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,” Shah added.

Local media reported that the player’s trip to Roorkee was supposed to be a surprise for his mother before the new year.

The Uttarakhand director general of police, Ashok Kumar, told Reuters: “Pant had told the local police that he lost control on his car after he dozed off for a couple of seconds. The police is investigating the case.”

Pant was part of the India Test squad that sealed a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh this month. He was not named in their Twenty20 and ODI squads for matches against Sri Lanka next month.

VVS Laxman, India’s National Cricket Academy chairman, was among those wishing him a speedy recovery. “Praying for Rishabh Pant. Thankfully he is out of danger,” Laxman tweeted.

Ricky Ponting, head coach of Pant’s Indian Premier League side Delhi Capitals, also expressed his concern. “Hope you’re on the mend and back on your feet soon,” tweeted the former Australia captain.

Pant was recently selected by Guardian cricket writers in their team of 2022.