Indian cricket star hospitalized after fireball car crash

Rishabh Pant was lucky to escape alive, local officials said

Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant suffered head injuries in a “serious” car crash in the early hours of Friday morning, officials have said.

Pant, 25, was driving his Mercedes GLE when he collided with divider railings on the Delhi-Haridwar highway at around 5.30am local time, The Times of India reported, citing police.

The vehicle is said to have flipped several times before catching fire. Locals and police reportedly rushed to the scene and helped Pant move clear from the wreckage.

The wicketkeeper was transferred to hospital, where is “conscious and able to talk” but is being treated for injuries to his forehead, a hand, and right knee.

“The car he was driving was completely burnt. He is lucky to survive the severe accident,” local police superintendent Swapn Kishor Singh was quoted as saying.

Another police official said Pant may have fallen asleep at the wheel, according to the Times of India, although those claims were not immediately verified.

Images were shared online showing Pant with a bloodied and bandaged head, while CCTV footage purportedly showed the crash and the immediate aftermath. 

Pant’s team, the Delhi Capitals, confirmed the incident in a social media message.

“Rishabh Pant met with an accident between Manglaur and Narsan in Haridwar district. He has now been shifted to a hospital in Dehradun after receiving primary treatment in a hospital in Roorkee,” read a tweet from the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.

Pant is known as one of the most entertaining wicketkeeper-batsmen in cricket.

He has an average of 43.67 in Test matches for India, which drops to 34.6 for one-day internationals (ODIs) and 34.61 for appearances in the domestic IPL.

Pant was part of the Indian team which defeated Bangladesh in their last Test match which concluded on December 25.

He hammered 93 runs in the first innings as India ran out winners by three wickets to seal the Series 2-0.