Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher on Saturday, December 30, met cricketer Rishabh Pant who is recuperating at Max Hospital here after suffering injuries in a car crash. The star cricketer had a miraculous escape when his luxury car crashed into a road divider and caught fire after he dozed off at the wheel on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in the early hours of Friday, December 29.
"He (Rishabh) is doing fine. We met him as fans. Let us pray that he recovers soon and we see him playing again," Anil Kapoor told reporters after coming out of the hospital. Anupam Kher, who accompanied Anil Kapoor, said they made the cricketer laugh a lot. "Everything is fine. We met Pant, his mother and relatives, they are all fine. We made him laugh a lot," he said.
The 25-year-old, who was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother, suffered injuries on his head, back and feet in the accident, according to police. Hospital authorities have said that his condition is stable.
NDTV reported that when Rishabh’s car caught fire during the accident, he had to break the windshield in order to escape. Visuals of the accident site show the railings on the divider completely bent with metal rods sticking out dangerously. Rishabh’s car was completely mangled and scorched. Chunks of the car’s bonnet, as well as the back bumper, were missing due to the impact of the accident. The tires were melted and the metal on the car was burnt. Rishabh was initially admitted to the Saksham Hospital in Roorkee, but was later shifted to Max Hospital.
Rishabh Pant is a left-hand batsman and a wicket-keeper. He became well-known during the Under-19 World Cup in 2016, when he scored 75 runs in 24 balls during a match against Nepal. In 2016, he was drafted by the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and even became the team captain. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team during a T20 match in 2017 against England at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.