In Rishabh Pant’s comeback, special pride for those who helped him during crash: ‘Motivating to see what he achieved’

As India vice captain Rishabh Pant slammed a six and then somersaulted after scoring the first of his two centuries against England in the Test match at Headingley, Leeds, thousands of miles away in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, a teenager leapt in celebration.

Nishu Kumar, 19, who was glued to his phone, isn’t just another Pant fan; his association with the wicketkeeper-batsman runs deeper. When Pant was involved in a near fatal car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in December 2022, Nishu and his friend Rajat Kumar were among those who pulled the cricketer out of the car and took him to hospital.

Last Saturday, Nishu gathered his friends at his one-room home in Muzaffarnagar’s Buchabasti village to watch Pant take on the English bowlers in their backyard.

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“What a comeback it was with that somersault to celebrate the hundred,” Nishu tells The Indian Express. “Rishabh bhaiya showed the world he is back!”

The smiling and jumping Pant he saw on TV was different to the person he encountered on the night of the accident near Roorkee in Uttarakhand. Nishu, along with Rajat, was heading to work at a sugar mill in the nearby town of Libberheri when he saw a car catch fire after hitting the divider on the highway. At that moment, they didn’t know who the person inside was.

“On the way to the hospital, in the ambulance, he showed us his pictures on our phone and told us he is Rishabh Pant,” says an emotional Nishu. “When we saw bhaiya after the accident, nobody, including us, thought he would play cricket again.”

Nishu says Pant gifted him and Rajat scooters as a gesture of gratitude for their life-saving help. This year the cricketer also invited them for an IPL match in Lucknow.

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“When Rishabh bhaiya invited us to Lucknow, it was the first time that I was watching him play in front of my eyes. Later, he also gave me a Lucknow Super Giants jersey and made sure there were no shortcomings in our stay at Lucknow,” says Nishu, who has been out of a job for the last few months now.

“I also saw (Australia’s World Cup winner) Mitchell Marsh at the team hotel but for me, Rishabh bhaiya is the superstar. When I told him that I don’t have a job, he assured me that he will see to it and do something.”

Nishu and Rajat weren’t the only ones who helped Pant that night. Paramjit Singh Nain, conductor of a Haryana Roadways bus running on the Haridwar-Panipat route, vividly recalls seeing Pant’s car somersault over the road barrier and land “50-100 metres” away.

Nain says he rushed to help, along with driver Sushil Kumar. “When we rushed, we saw a man stuck halfway between the seat and the windshield. While Sushil called the police, I called the ambulance and after help arrived, we left for our destination,” says Nain, now nicknamed ‘Pant’ at the depot.

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Kumar, 32, says he narrates the ‘Pant story’ to his son to motivate him when the going gets tough.

Uttarakhand MLA Umesh Kumar with Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni at a private function. (Special Arrangement) Uttarakhand MLA Umesh Kumar with Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni at a private function. (Special Arrangement)

“My son is a judo player and I always tell him to have the mental strength like Pant… I don’t know anything about cricket. But if the whole world is talking about Pant, then it’s the biggest motivation for others to see what he has achieved after that fateful night,” says Kumar.

Kumar believes it was their ‘farz’ (duty) to help Pant. “Before we reached the car, it was in flames. We collected his cash and other belongings safely so that we could hand them over to the police,” he says, adding he is just thankful to God that Pant was saved. “When we hear that he is doing the country proud, it’s the biggest gift for all of us.”

While the driver-conductor duo has not met Pant since the accident, they were honoured by then Haryana chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, during Republic Day celebrations in 2023 and given commendation certificates along with a trophy. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, too, honoured them.

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Uttarakhand MLA Umesh Kumar, who was among the first to rush to the hospital to see Pant that night, says “mental strength” has always been the Indian vice captain’s strong suit. “Right from the day I have known Rishabh, he has been someone with great mental toughness and unfazed by any setbacks,” he says.

A close associate of Pant’s family, the MLA says he spoke to the cricketer before the Leeds Test and told him to ignore the trolls who criticised his performance in the Indian Premier League season. But, he adds, Pant was calm.

“He just told me, ‘Aap bhi chinta nahi karo. Main bhi nahi karta (You don’t worry. I don’t either)’.”

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