- Friday, May 02, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
A bus driver from the northern Indian state of Haryana, who was among those who took India cricketer Rishabh Pant to safety after her Mercedes Benz SUV got into a deadly accident in the northern state of Uttarakhand early on Friday (30), said he could not identify the ace wicket-keeper-batter since he doesn’t watch cricket.
Sushil Mann, the bus driver, told Indian news channel NDTV that the car was coming in high speed from the opposite direction and rammed into the road divider. He immediately rushed to the rescue of the passenger and arranged for an ambulance.
Pant, 25, suffered a number of injuries but was reportedly out of danger.
“I put my bus on the side and quickly ran towards the divider,” Mann was quoted as saying.
“I thought the car would flip under the bus as it was turning over and over before it stopped,” he said.
“The driver (Pant) was half out of the window. He told me he’s a cricketer,” Mann said, adding the injured cricketer asked him to call his mother, whose phone was, however, switched off.
“I don’t watch cricket and I didn’t know this is Rishabh Pant is. But others in my bus recognised him,” Mann added.
“After removing Rishabh, I quickly searched the car to check if anyone else was there. I took out his blue bag and Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 (£70-£80) rupees from the car and gave it to him in the ambulance,” he said.
According to the police, Pant dozed off while driving and it resulted in the crash. He was going to Roorkee, his hometown in Uttarakhand, from Delhi where he lives.
The vehicle caught fire after the high-speed impact.
Pant was receiving treatment at the hospital.
