Rishabh Pant and PM Narendra Modi reminisce about phone call after former's car accident: 'Your mother was confident...'

Flamboyant India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant recalled the chat between his mother and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was admitted to hospital after a horrific car accident a couple of years ago. It wasn't easy for Pant to bounce back and return to the cricket field. The doctors thought he would need about 18 months to recover, but the 'miracle man' proved them wrong and made a return to competitive cricket in 14 months. Pant's return to cricket is nothing sort of a miracle as he sustained multiple injuries, including three major ligaments in his right knee – ACL, PCL, lateral-collateral and more. However, the left-handed batter didn't give up and fought like a warrior during his tough times.

He returned to action with IPL 2024 and made a strong statement with 446 runs which helped him get picked in the squad for the T20 World Cup. Pant continued his good form on the international stage and played a pivotal role in India's title triumph.

After returning to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the Men in Blue, during which time the former talked with Pant about his tough times.

The Indian wicketkeeper revealed that PM Modi called his mother in the hospital, and that conversation calmed him mentally.

“…1.5 years ago, I was going through a very difficult phase. I remember that you called my mother and said everything would be fine, it was then I became a little calm mentally. After that, during recovery, I used to hear from people whether I would ever be able to play cricket or not, wicketkeeping was the main concern as many suggested that I wouldn't be able to keep the gloves again. So for the last 1.5 years, I was thinking that I should come back to the field and do better than what I was doing. I just wanted to prove myself and play for the country and win matches for the country once again," Pant said.

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PM Modi also recalled the conversation and said Pant's mother was very confident of the recovery as, at one stage, it seemed she was giving him assurance about it.

“When I talked to your mother, I also had a chat with the doctors and asked them whether he was required to be taken abroad for further treatment. Your mother was really confident of your recovery. During the conversation, it seemed like she was giving me the assurance. That time I knew that a person who is blessed with such a mother will definitely achieve something big. The thing which I liked the most was you accepted that it was your mistake, not anyone else's. You could have put the blame on anything else. You are an inspiration for everyone and you truly showed us that you won the war,” PM Modi said.