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'Rishabh Pant should have been timed out': India wicketkeeper shown no mercy by legends for 'milking' his injury
That Rishabh Pant took time to come down the Old Trafford dressing room divided opinions among certain legends present at the venue.
The visuals of Rishabh Pant coming out to bat with a broken foot will be remembered for a long time. Irrespective of what happens in the ongoing fourth Test between India and England in Manchester, Pant's bravado will be spoken of in the same breath as Anil Kumble's when he bowled for India with a broken jaw 23 years ago. At a time when putting even the lightest force on his foot can make one grimace in pain, Pant consumed painkillers and took injections to complete a gutsy half-century when runs got tough to come by for India.
However, even as Pant was lauded for his bravado, it seems not everyone was happy with it. Those present at the Old Trafford press box, broadcasters and journalists alike, stood up to give Pant a rousing reception when he came out to bat, flocking to the front row to check if Pant would bat after India lost the wicket of Shardul Thakur. When the visuals were confirmed, they went nuts. Still, a little away from the press box, at the legends lounge, not everybody was impressed with the way Pant took time and hobbled down the dressing room stairs.
"I’ve never had a metatarsal, which I think is somewhere in the foot, seeing Rishabh Pant. I have had a smashed hand against Andy Roberts and a broken cheekbone. I couldn't bat on after either, although I think I did continue when I had a broken finger. Pant looked in pain; pretty heroic of him to come out, though. Northerners, whether they are tough enough, but I was in that legends lounge today, and the consensus was 'He has milking that injury. It can’t be that bad. He's milked it, coming down those steps, and one or two said, 'He should be timed out,'" said former English cricketer David Lloyd for talkSPORT Cricket.
During the 2023 Ashes, something similar happened to Nathan Lyon. When the Aussie spinner walked out to bat, practically on one leg at Lord’s, he was worried about getting 'timed out' as it took him a long time to walk through the Long Room and onto the field. Nonetheless, Pant's injury opened a debate that had gone silent for a long time: the need to have substitutes when the injury is external. That Pant was required to bat stems from the fact that without him, the battle is now between England's 11 and India's 10.
Having substitutes not a bad idea after all
While Dhruv Jurel will replace Pant behind the sticks, he is not eligible to bat for the injured India star because of the old substitute rule, unlike a concussion-sub. Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel doesn't want the rule tempered. Lloyd is not a fan of having runners, but he has no issues with substitutes being allowed to bat and bowl.
"I probably am against runners, but I am pro substitutes for an external injury. It opens up a can of worms, it really does. But if it is an external injury, a break and medically he isn’t going to be fit for six weeks, you could have a like-for-like substitute. So that’s something else that you've got to consider. Not like replace a batter with a spinner though," he added.
