“Rishabh Pant, who sustained a fracture to his right foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester, has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test of the series. The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor his progress and the team wishes him a speedy recovery,” the BCCI statement read.
Dhruv Jurel substituted for Rishabh Pant to keep wickets for the rest of the Test, but was not allowed to bat as per the rules.Ben Stokes and Gautam Gambhir voiced their opinions on a major rule change on the back of Rishabh Pant’s foot injury. Gambhir called for a radical change, but the England captain Ben Stokes did not agree with his suggestion.
England skipper Ben Stokes is heavily against the idea of injury replacements and feels the conversation around the matter should be ‘shut down and stopped’ as soon as possible. The debate for injury replacements in Tests sparked after India lost Rishabh Pant due to a foot fracture during the first innings of the fourth Test.
Rishabh Pant has done some outrageous things on the cricket field and off it. They don’t come close to coming out to bat – in all consciousness, possibly against medical advice, or at least despite being given the option not to do so – with a broken foot. Surely, you felt, it was too outrageous even for him This was not Rishabh Pant coming out at No. 11 trying to draw a Test or something that desperate.
This was 314 for 6, at a time when the ball was doing things both laterally and vertically, which led experts to believe India didn’t need to be desperate, that they could get enough for these conditions even without Rishabh Pant having to risk an even worse injury.
Rishabh Pant has done the audacious, the ridiculous, and the unforgettable often enough for it to no longer surprise. At Lord’s last week, Rishabh Pant batted with a damaged finger and nearly dragged India back with a gutsy 74 before a run-out cut him short. At the SCG in 2021, he played through a bruised elbow to score a match-saving 97.
But what he did in Manchester may have topped them all. Yesterday, Rishabh Pant under-edged a reverse-sweep off a fast bowler onto his own foot, fracturing a bone, and still returned the next day to complete one of the most remarkable half-centuries in Test cricket.
India were 314 for 6 at 12:28 PM on Thursday (July 24) when the sixth wicket fell. It was a good total under heavy skies, the ball still hooping around corners. The match wasn’t in crisis. And yet, Old Trafford rose in applause when Rishabh Pant emerged from the pavilion, limping down the stairs toward the middle.
Rishabh Pant got injured on Day 1 batting on 37
The fourth Test between India and England at Manchester saw Rishabh Pant’s courageous return to the field. Despite suffering a fractured toe on Day 1, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter walked out to bat on Day 2, limping in pain.It was a display of heart, grit and commitment to the team. The crowd at Old Trafford rose in applause, but it was the reaction from former cricketers that truly underlined the magnitude of Pant’s act.
Rishabh Pant’s injury occurred late on Day 1, during the 68th over of India’s innings, when he tried a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes. The ball struck his right foot hard after an inside edge, and he collapsed in visible agony. Reports later confirmed a fracture on his fifth metatarsal, with swelling the size of a table tennis ball. He had to be taken off the field in a cart and was ruled out for wicketkeeping duties.
But by the time Shardul Thakur was dismissed on Day 2, Rishabh Pant stunned the crowd by slowly walking out to bat again. He received a standing ovation at Old Trafford, and the crowd’s cheer was matched by online support from Indian greats. Rishabh Pant with a fractured toe wen out to score a fighting fifty .
However after the match ended in draw after Gautam Gambhir’s advocated Dhruv Jurel’s role as wicketkeeper due to the serious injury to Rishabh Pant in accordance to the rule. However English skipper Ben Stokes ridiculously mocked Gautam Gambhir and the idea of having injury replacement during the ongoing match.