After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Test retirements, Rishabh Pant was appointed as vice-captain. He performed the role with ease in the first Test against England in Leeds, assisting new skipper Shubman Gill. Pant got twin tons in the first Test, crossing 100 runs in both innings.
Pant’s story is an inspiration for many, having survived a near-fatal car accident on 2022. Pant also caught everyone’s attention when he got his ton in the first innings, as he performed a stylish somersault. He did the same when he got his IPL ton as LSG skipper.
Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, who was Pant’s surgeon, spoke about his somersault celebration to The Telegraph. He said, “Rishabh trained as a gymnast. Although he looks large, he is quite agile, and he does have a lot of flexibility.”
“And, that’s why he’s been doing those somersaults of late.
He added, “It’s a well-practised and perfected move – unnecessary though!”
The accident saw Pant miss out on the game for around 16 months. Opening up on the injuries, Pardiwala said, “To be in an accident like this, where the car actually overturns and blows up, the risk of death is extremely high.”
“When your knee dislocates, and all the ligaments break, there’s a high possibility of the nerve or the main blood vessel also being injured. If the blood vessel gets injured, you typically have about four to six hours to restore the blood supply.
“Otherwise, there’s a risk of losing your limb. The fact that his blood vessel wasn’t injured despite having a severe high-velocity knee dislocation was extremely lucky,” he added.
In the first innings in Leeds, Pant smacked 134 runs off 178 balls. Meanwhile in the second innings, he slammed 118 off 140 deliveries. Even Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal got tons for India. Despite the dominant batting display, India lost by five wickets.