Rishabh Pant Injured: Out of Wicket-Keeping in England Test

Manchester, July 24 (PTI) - Rishabh Pant has been sidelined from wicket-keeping duties in the ongoing fourth Test against England after sustaining a toe fracture on the opening day. However, he will still be available to bat as needed by the team.

Pant, who is 27, retired hurt at 37 runs and subsequently went for scans. The injury occurred when he attempted a reverse sweep off England's Chris Woakes on Wednesday, receiving a blow to his right foot.

The BCCI announced on X, "Rishabh Pant will not be performing wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match due to an injury to his right foot. Dhruv Jurel will replace him as the wicket-keeper." Despite this setback, Pant has rejoined his team for Day 2 and remains available to bat according to the requirements.

Earlier, the Board had suggested that Pant might be ruled out of the series entirely and that Ishan Kishan would be called up as cover.

The cricketing community at Old Trafford was abuzz about Pant, a unique player in the Indian batting lineup known for his ability to shift the momentum with bold strokes.

After further scans, Pant returned to the stadium wearing a moon boot, a protective orthopedic footwear, to stabilize his injured foot. "He is ruled out for the next six weeks," a BCCI source told PTI, adding that Ishan Kishan would be called in as a replacement. "His metatarsal bones appear shattered. It's not a promising situation."

The extent of Pant's injury was evident from the visible bleeding and swelling in his right foot.

On the first day, Pant was noted for his aggressive approach against England's Jofra Archer, while his batting peers managed only three runs per over.

Before his injury, Pant executed a remarkable sweep off Archer and hammered Brydon Carse with ease, akin to facing a spinner.

India is already dealing with multiple injuries, having lost all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to a knee issue, and pacers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh to a groin niggle and finger injury, respectively.

Pant's injury compounds the challenges facing a team already down 1-2 in the series.

Ishan Kishan, who featured in two County matches for Nottinghamshire, was also part of the India A squad that played against the England Lions prior to the Test series, although he did not participate in those games.

The team management could also consider handing over wicket-keeping responsibilities to KL Rahul, though he hasn't performed such duties since the South Africa tour in the 2023–24 season.

Speaking on 'Sky Sports', Ricky Ponting remarked on the severity of Pant's injury, "He could hardly put his foot down, and the immediate swelling was concerning. I've endured a metatarsal injury, and those bones are quite fragile."

The series' fifth and final Test is slated at London’s Kennington Oval starting July 31. This is Pant's second injury in this series, having earlier bruised his finger during the third Test at Lord’s, impairing his ability to keep in England’s second innings.

Pant recently resumed international cricket after a life-threatening car accident in 2022.

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