India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant once again found himself in the medical room after being hit on the right boot. Pant started off the Manchester Test in trademark style, hitting his unorthodox shots to put the pressure on England on Wednesday. However, Pant’s latest dashing display was cut short while he was batting on a score of 37. The wicketkeeper inside-edged an audacious reverse sweep off Chris Woakes‘ yorker on to his right boot. When the shoe was taken off, the foot was swollen and bruised.
Pant, who usually is seen as a man with a high pain threshold, couldn’t continue and had to be taken off on a golf cart by the medical team. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri painted a grim picture over Pant’s situation, saying the injury does look very serious.
“Just seeing his face, grimacing there. He has a pain threshold that’s very high, and for him to be grimacing in pain in that fashion makes it very serious. It can only get worse overnight,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.
“When you get up in the morning, it can be really sore, no matter the amount of ice you put. He will be icing it through the night. Let’s hope it’s not a break or it’s not a crack,” he added.
Ricky Ponting Keeping Fingers Crossed
Australia great Ricky Ponting, who worked with Rishabh Pant closely in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Capitals, suspected a metatarsal injury as there was immediate swelling on the foot. If the foot is indeed broken, Pant feels Pant could be out for the entire game.
“He hardly put his foot on the ground. He rolled around for 6-8 minutes before the golf cart came in. The immediate swelling was the worry for me. I’ve had a metatarsal injury myself, and they’re small, fragile bones,” said Ponting.
“The fact that he couldn’t put any weight on it doesn’t look good at all. If it’s broken, he will be out of the game. If it’s not, then they will do anything they can to get him back out there. Hopefully, he doesn’t play any more reverse sweeps,” he added.
“Thinking about the situation of the game as well, Shardul has come out and played nicely, but with the way Rishabh plays and the momentum he brings to the Indian team, that is what they will potentially miss the most. Someone who can put the pressure on the opposition,” said Ponting.
“For Indian fans, keep fingers crossed and hope it is not as serious as it looks. If he is out of the remainder of the game, then that leaves a massive dent on India’s chance, not only in this game, but the remainder of the series,” he added.
England great Michael Atherton also shared his views on Pant’s injury, suggesting the wicket-keeper batter could be out for the remainder of the series, as it does look like quite a serious injury.
“If he is out of the game…if he’s out of the series, then that’s a massive blow to India and puts the day in a different light. That 264 for four becomes 264 for five, and with that new ball due, there is a potential to knock India over reasonably swiftly tomorrow. But if he returns to bat, he could change the game. So there is an uncertainty which we don’t know. But it looked like a quite serious injury, because you don’t get carted off otherwise,” he said.
