Corridor of Uncertainty: Not Just Rishabh Pant, Here Are Other Cricketers Involved in Road Accidents

On Friday morning, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was involved in a major road accident while driving from New Delhi to Roorkee. He was alone in his Mercedes car when it collided with the divider and then caught fire close to the Narsan border of Roorkee.

“According to what Pant said, he dozed off while driving, and the car collided with the divider and caught fire. He was moved to the Roorkee hospital from where he has now been shifted to Dehradun,” said director general of Uttarakhand Police Ashok Kumar.

As per reports, Pant has lacerative wounds on his forehead and left eye, a ligament tear in his knee, and abrasions on his back. There are no burns on his body and an X-ray has shown there’s no fracture either.

The extent of his injury is not yet known and it will be determined after further scans have been conducted.

Pant isn’t the first cricketer to be involved in a troubling road accident. Here are some others:

Andrew Symonds

Australian cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds died in a car crash on the night of March 14, 2022. He was the only person in the vehicle when it crashed just outside of Townsville, Queensland. He was 46.

The police said that “shortly after 11pm the car was being driven on Hervey Range Road, near Alice River Bridge when it left the roadway and rolled…Emergency services attempted to revive the 46-year-old driver and sole occupant. However, he died of his injuries.”

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

On July 1, 1961, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s car was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle at Hove in East Sussex. The 20-year-old had badly injured his right eye, which was permanently damaged.

Six months after the accident, Pataudi fought back and became the cricket team’s youngest Test captain at the age of 21.

Mohammad Azharuddin

Former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s car met with an accident at the Kota mega highway in Soorwal, Rajasthan, on December 30, 2020. Azharuddin suffered minor injuries. He and his family were headed to Ranthambore.

The car overturned after it lost balance. Azhar and his co-passengers were admitted to the nearby hospital, from where they were discharged after receiving first aid.

Mohammed Shami

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami met with an accident while returning to New Delhi from Dehradun on March 25, 2018. A truck rammed into Shami’s Toyota car at around 5 am. He sustained minor injuries and received 10 stitches on his head after the collision.

Sunil Gavaskar

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar escaped unharmed in a car accident while travelling from Manchester to London on August 10, 2014, after the completion of the third Test between India and England. He was riding in a Jaguar with fellow commentators Mark Nicholas and Chandresh Patel when the accident occurred. A car coming from the opposite end collided with their vehicle. Gavaskar remarked, “God has saved us. There was torrential rain and our car was being driven very fast. Thankfully, no one was hurt although the accident was very, very scary.”

Joginder Sharma

On November 24, 2011, the cricketer Joginder Sharma received head injuries when his car collided with a BPO vehicle in Dwarka, New Delhi. Sharma, a member of the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup team, was in the vehicle with one other cricketer.

The Haryana all-rounder talking about his car accident, said, “I had a major head injury, fracture and clotting, was in the ICU, needed head surgery and about 40-45 stitches… The doctors were cautious because that’s the nature of head injuries. Kuch bhi ho sakta hain (anything can happen).”

Najeeb Tarakai

Najeeb Tarakai, the top-order right-hand batsman for Afghanistan, passed away on October 2, 2020, at the age of 29, as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in Jalalabad. While crossing the street in Eastern Nangarhar, Najeeb was struck by a car.

The cricketer played his only one-day international against Ireland in March 2017 in Greater Noida.

Afsar Zazai

Afghanistan cricketer Afsar Zazai was involved in a car crash on June 21, 2020. The wicketkeeper-batsman sustained a slight head injury.

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