"Don't Watch Cricket, Didn't Recognise Him": Bus Driver Who Rescued Rishabh Pant

A Haryana Roadways bus driver who was among the people who took cricketer Rishabh Pant out of the Mercedes SUV after it crashed into a road divider has said he did not know who the injured man was and acted swiftly to arrange for an ambulance.

Sushil Mann, the bus driver, told NDTV that the SUV was coming in high speed from the opposite direction and it hit the divider.

"I put my bus on the side and quickly ran towards the divider," Mr Mann said.

"I thought the car would flip under the bus as it was turning over and over before it stopped," he said. "The driver (Mr Pant) was half out of the window. He told me he's a cricketer," Mr Mann said, adding the cricketer asked him to call his mother, whose phone was, however, switched off.

"I don't watch cricket and I didn't know this is Rishabh Pant is. But others in my bus recognised him," Mr Mann said.

"After removing Rishabh, I quickly searched the car to check if anyone else was there. I took out his blue bag and Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 rupees from the car and gave it to him in the ambulance," he said.

Haryana Roadways later honoured Sushil and the Paramjeet, news agency PTI reported. "We gave them an appreciation letter and a shield in our office when they returned to Panipat," Haryana Roadways Panipat depot general manager Kuldeep Jangra told PTI.

Haryana Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma said the two demonstrated a big example of humanity by providing immediate help to Mr Pant.

The police have said Mr Pant dozed off, leading to the crash this morning while he was going to his hometown Roorkee.

The Mercedes SUV caught fire after the high-speed impact. Mr Pant is being treated at a hospital.