Rishabh Pant's mental strength and his background in gymnastics has helped the dashing wicketkeeper-batter to make an early recovery.
Fifteen months after Pant was involved in a horrific car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in December 2022, the wicketkeeper-batter received the green signal to play in the IPL, starting March 22.
"The mental strength and confidence inside him made us give our 100 per cent in doing the rehab part for him," Thulasi Yuvraj, a physiotherapist at the National Cricket Academy told bcci.tv.
"The doctors believed that he may take up to two years. Once he came to NCA, it was like a progressive phase for him," he added.
"One thing was that Rishabh has a background for gymnastic which was a very, very big asset for us because there are a few things that come naturally to him," Nishanta Bordoloi, the strength and conditioning coach at NCA, said.
SEE: Rishabh Pant's comeback story post rehab at the NCA. VIDEO: BCCI/X
"Anytime he would feel he couldn't move, he could tumble or roll over back to his feet again. Which was so much of an added advantage for him.
"The beginning phase was to get foundational strength in him, making his body understand what the movements are like.
"It's completely reconstructed thing and once it's reconstructed it takes a lot of mind and body connection. The neural system need to understand, the muscle, tendons have to function," he added.
Although Pant left no stone unturned, ticking all the boxes, the 26-year found the rehab mundane.
"Rehab is very irritating, have to do same thing again and again. But you have to do it because you don't have any other choice. It's boring but the more you do the better you get," said Pant.
