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Rishabh Pant suffers fractured toe, ruled out of India vs England Test series: 'No chance of him batting'
Rishabh Pant suffers a toe fracture and is advised to rest for six weeks. The wicketkeeper-batter will miss the Oval Test against England.
India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will play no further part in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against England as he has been advised to rest for six weeks. The Indian vice-captain suffered a toe fracture after inside-edging a reverse sweep onto his foot off the bowling of Chris Woakes on Day 1 of the Manchester Test against England on Wednesday.
Pant was batting on 37 in the 68th over of the Indian batting innings when this incident happened. As soon as he got hit on his foot, he signalled for the physio to come out. He received treatment on the ground. However, he was unable to put any sort of weight on his foot and in the end, walked off the field with the help of a golf-cart-like vehicle.
After stumps on Day 1, Pant went to a hospital for scans, and the report revealed a toe fracture. The wicketkeeper will also not be travelling with the Indian team to the stadium on Day 2.
"Yes, Rishabh Pant is ruled out of the series. He went for scans last night, and the reports have revealed a toe fracture. There is just no chance of him batting as he is in a lot of pain right now," sources privy to developments confirmed to Hindustan Times.
When Pant was receiving treatment in the medical room at Old Trafford, India captain Shubman Gill, who sported a worried look on his face, visited to check how the wicketkeeper was doing.
With Pant ruled out, Dhruv Jurel will come in his place as a substitute wicketkeeper. However, he won't be allowed to bat, which basically means the rest of the four days will see India's ten men going up against England's XI.
India's injury woes
Pant's update has now worsened India's campaign, as the visitors are already dealing with injuries to Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Nitish has already been ruled out of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, while Akash and Arshdeep were deemed unfit for the Manchester Test.
This isn't Pant's first meeting with injury in the series against England. Earlier, he had clipped the nail off his index finger while keeping wickets at Lord's in the third Test. With Pant retiring in the Manchester Test, Ravindra Jadeja replaced him at the crease. At stumps on Day 1, India reached the score of 264/4 with Jadeja and Shardul Thakur at the crease.
With Pant's injury, India's chances in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will suffer a severe blow. The left-handed batter has been one of the side's most consistent performers with the bat in hand. He had smashed two centuries in the series opener in Headingley.
He also scored a gritty 74 in the Lord's Test despite being hit on the hand. Pant had staged a remarkable comeback to competitive cricket last year after being involved in a horrific car crash.
When Pant suffered life-threatening injuries during a car accident, it seemed improbable that he would hold the cricket bat again. However, he displayed great skill and determination to stage a comeback.
He first played for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year and then made a comeback into the Indian T20I side for the World Cup.
His Test return came in September 2024 with the series against Bangladesh.
