|| AFP ||

Star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is fit to play in the Indian Premier League starting this month after being seriously hurt in a car crash in 2022, the cricket board said Tuesday.

Pant is set to return to the Delhi Capitals after missing last season and could play for India at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States in June.

"After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap... Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

Following the BCCI announcement, the 26-year-old posted a picture of himself on Instagram with the caption: "Keep smiling."

Pant crashed his Mercedes SUV north of New Delhi before dawn in December 2022, suffering multiple injuries when the car rammed into a crash barrier, flipped over and caught fire.

He was rushed to hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment and surgery.

Pant has been on an intensive rehabilitation programme since surviving the crash with a damaged ligament in his right knee, a hurt wrist and ankle, and abrasions to his back.

He was replaced as skipper of Delhi Capitals by David Warner of Australia last year.

Pant has played for India a total of 129 times in all three formats since 2017.

'Big asset' 

BCCI secretary Jay Shah foreshadowed Pant's return on Monday when he said that the destructive wicketkeeper-batsman could be available for the T20 World Cup.

"If he can play the T20 World Cup for us that will be a big thing for us," Shah was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

"He is a big asset for us. If he can keep (wicket), he can play the World Cup. Let's see how he does in the IPL."

Before the IPL's latest player auction last December, Pant had spoken about the challenges he faced during the recovery period.

"The kind of accident I had, I'm lucky to be alive," he said. 

"I think it was very challenging, especially the first part I would say more from a physical point of view... there was a lot of pain to be endured."

The latest instalment of the IPL will begin on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match.

The BCCI has only announced the schedule for the season's first 21 matches because it is waiting for India's general election dates to be finalised. 

The IPL is the world's richest cricket league and has proven a cash bonanza for both the BCCI and top players.