Cricketer Rishabh Pant suffers injuries in car accident
New Delhi/Dehradun (PTI): India's star cricketer Rishabh Pant suffered multiple injuries when his car collided with a road divider on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, early on Friday.
The 25-year-old, who was going to his home in Roorkee, was taken to a local hospital. He suffered injuries on his head, back and feet but is in a stable condition.
"Pant met with an accident in Manglaur in Haridwar district when his car hit a divider at 5.30 am on Friday," Haridwar SSP Ajai Singh said.
"He was rushed to Saksham hospital in nearby Rookee from where he was referred later to Max Hospital, Dehradun," he added.
The accident happened at Mohammadpur Jat in Manglaur.
Dr. Sushil Nagar, who treated Pant in emergency, said the cricketer didn't suffer any fracture but there was a ligament injury on his knee which would require further investigations.
"When he was brought to our hospital, he was fully conscious and I spoke to him. He wanted to surprise his mother and was going back home," Dr Nagar told PTI.
"He had two lacerations (blunt trauma) on his head but I didn't put stitches. I have recommended him to Max Hospital where a plastic surgeon might see him.
"However reports of X Rays conducted at our hospital suggest that there are no bone injuries. Yes, there is a ligament tear on his right knee. How serious it is can only be detected after further investigation and detailed MRI done."
Ligament injuries have various grades and it can take 2 to 6 months to regain complete fitness.
Dr Nagar said the big bruises on his back, pictures of which have gone viral on social media, are not burn injuries.
"The injuries happened because he jumped out of car by breaking the window of his car as soon as it caught fire. As he landed on the side of the road on his rear, the skin was peeled off. But those are not burn injuries and not very serious."
Dr Dishant Yagnik, medical superintendent at Max Hospital, Dehradun said Pant is being evaluated by a team of orthopaedists and plastic surgeons in the emergency ward.
"A detailed bulletin on his condition will be available in around an hour after the evaluation is complete," he said.
Pant played a big role in India's two-Test series win against Bangladesh. He had scored a match-winning knock of 93 in the second Test in Mirpur.
"We are all concerned but thankfully he is stable. We at DDCA are keeping a tab and wish him a speedy recovery," DDCA secretary Siddharth Sahib Singh said in a statement.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said his government will bear the entire expense of Pant's treatment.
Dhami spoke to officials to get an update on the cricketer's condition and asked them to make all arrangements for his treatment.
Arrangement for an air ambulance should also be made if required, he said.
However, Pant is a centrally contracted player and the BCCI will take full care of all his medical expenses.
"Praying for Rishabh Pant. Thankfully he is out of danger. Wishing @RishabhPant17 a very speedy recovery. Get well soon Champ," NCA chief VVS Laxman wrote on his twitter handle.
Pant was left out of the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka beginning on January 3 as he was supposed to join the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for strength and conditioning programme ahead of February's Border Gavaskar Trophy.
As of now, there is no clarity on his availability for the series against Australia.
Pant has scored 2,271 runs in 33 Tests so far with the help of five hundreds and 11 fifties. He has also represented the country in 30 ODIs and 66 T20Is.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
