'Want Rishabh Pant to recover so that I can go and slap him,' Kapil Dev's parental love

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India's World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has wished Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from multiple injuries after a horrific car crash on December 30, a speedy recovery "so that he can go and slap him" like a parent figure for his "mistake".

The 64-year-old, in a video on Uncut, said that Pant's absence has left the Indian team in a spot of bother. Kapil expressed his love towards the 25-year-old before expressing disappointment and saying that he wishes to slap the southpaw as soon as he recovers from the injuries.

“I have a lot of love for him. I want him to recover so that I can go and slap him and tell him to look after himself. Because of your accident, the entire team is in tatters. I love him, but I am also angry at him. Why do such youngsters of today’s times make such mistakes? There should be a slap for it,” Kapil said.

“First blessings, that he gets all the love in the world, may the almighty give him good health. First that, but after that, like parents have this responsibility to slap the children if they make mistakes.

“Yes, you have a good-looking car with great speeds but you have to be careful. You can easily afford a driver, you don't have to drive it alone. I understand that one has hobbies or even passion for such things, it's natural to have it at his age, but you also have responsibilities. Only you can take care of yourself. You have to decide things for yourself,” he added.

Rishabh Pant gave a glimpse of his road to recovery as he posted an Instagram story for his fans on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batter wrote, “Never knew just being able to sit out and breathe fresh air feels so blessed.”

The Delhi Capitals (DC) is set to miss the upcoming season of IPL 2023 and his participation in the 2023 World Cup in India is also very doubtful.

According to a BCCI statement, Pant “has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee and has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back."

In absence of Pant, Ishan Kishan has been called into the India Test side for the first two Test matches against Australia. Srikar Bharat and KL Rahul are the two other wicketkeeper-batters in the side.