Rishabh Pant sends Sitanshu Kotak, the NCA batting coach, a birthday greeting of “Thank you for looking after me.”

Rishabh Pant, a young India wicketkeeper-batsman, has been recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru since a nearly catastrophic vehicle accident in December 2022.

In a birthday tribute to NCA batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, the 25-year-old praised the former Saurashtra captain for taking care of him over the previous several months. Kotak’s birthday celebration also included former cricketer and NCA president VVS Laxman.

“Thoda sa blurr hai but Happy birthday machaa,” Rishabh Pant captioned a video of Kotak’s special day on Instagram. A special thank you for taking care of me over the past few months. Have a wonderful day.

Take a look at Rishabh Pant’s Instagram post:

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A post shared by Rishabh Pant (@rishabpant)

In his professional life, Rishabh Pant has consistently displayed extraordinary tenacity.

The 25-year-old’s path to rehabilitation has been difficult given the severity of his wounds, especially because he damaged the ligaments in his knee. After receiving extensive medical attention, he has started to bat in the nets to demonstrate progress in his physical recuperation. However, he won’t soon be able to play competitive cricket.

India has started preparing for the showpiece event with the goal of capturing their first ICC trophy since 2013. The 2023 Cricket World Cup is scheduled to begin at home in October. The availability of a few key players who were sidelined due to serious injuries will be the Men in Blue’s main worry.

Speedster Jasprit Bumrah, top hitters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, and others who were receiving treatment at NCA, have made huge strides and are on their way back to the national team. However, it is uncertain if Pant would be able to make it in time for the ICC global tournament despite the fact that he has also shown encouraging indications of recuperation.