Rishabh Pant hospitalised after horrific car crash on Friday morning

India's explosive wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been hospitalised following a car accident early Friday morning near his hometown of Roorkee, Uttarakhand. According to reports, the southpaw was driving a Mercedes, which caught fire after a collision with a divider. He has been sent to the Max Hospital in Dehradun after initial treatment at a local hospital in Roorkee.

The cricketer was reportedly traveling to Delhi from Uttarakhand when his car hit a divider near the Narsan border of Roorkee near Mohammadpur Jhal. The 25-year-old recently starred in India's Test series triumph in Bangladesh however, he was dropped from the squad for the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka, commencing next month.

"Rishabh has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee and has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back," the BCCI said in a statement. "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."

It has come to light that the southpaw nodded off while driving and met with the accident around 5:30 on Friday morning. Uttarakhand's DGP Ashok Kumar revealed that the Indian cricketer was shifted to Max Hospital in Dehradun after his initial treatment at the Roorkee hospital.

"Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant's car met with an accident at around 5:30 am. The incident took place at Mohammedpur Jat near Roorkee. According to what Pant said, he dozed off while driving and as a result the car collided with the divider and caught fire. He was moved to the Roorkee hospital from where he has now been shifted to Dehradun," Director General of Uttarakhand Police, Ashok Kumar, was quoted as saying by NDTV.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah also revealed that the star batter is in stable condition with the board monitoring his progress and willing to provide any support needed by him or his family.

It is believed that Pant has escaped severe injuries but has sustained lacerations on his forehead and around his left eye. He has also suffered a ligament tear in his knee along with skin damage on the back. There is no sign of any fracture in the initial X-rays and the doctors are currently assessing the cricketer for internal injuries with a detailed report to follow after the evaluation.

"We are still examining him [Pant]. He is stable at the moment, there doesn't appear to be cause for major worry. Once the evaluation is complete, we will put out a detailed bulletin. He is conscious, and he is talking, and the doctors are examining wherever he is saying there is discomfort. Orthopaedics and plastic surgeons are looking at him right now. And we are examining for any internal injuries," Dr. Dishant Yagnik, medical superintendent at Max Hospital was quoted by ESPN. 

He was set to visit the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for strength and conditioning before the decisive Test series against Australia in February.