Rishabh Pant, the wicket-keeper-batter and vice-captain of the Indian cricket team, has been excluded from the rest of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test series against the England side following a toe fracture. Pant sustained the injury during the first day of the Manchester Test, as he had tried to reverse sweep the ball against Chris Woakes, the latter of whom had gotten onto his foot. He had already scored 37 runs by the 68th over when the agonising moment drove him to require urgent medical help.
Pant, in spite of treatment on the field, could hardly put weight on the injured foot and was later taken off the field in a golf-cart-like vehicle. He was later taken to the hospital to undergo a scan during which a fracture in his toe was confirmed. Though its medical advice has currently ruled him out of competitive cricket at least till six weeks, he will not be available during the rest of the high-profile series.
The official sources in the team commented, “Yes, Rishabh Pant will miss the series. The scans showed that there was a fracture, and it is unlikely that he would be able to persist in the level of discomfort which he is in now.” This is a big setback to India because Pant has formed an important part of the Test rearrangement and is a vital figure in the mid-order.
After the incident, Captain Shubman Gill could be seen going to the medical room to inquire about Pant’s condition. In the absence of Pant, Dhruv Jurel has been included as a backup wicket-keeper. But, according to the rules, Jurel cannot bat, and in a way, this will result in India having only ten batters left in the match.
With Pant injured, this presents a big problem to India in the ongoing series, not only because he has to keep wickets but also because of the depth of batters in its team, as it struggles to get back in the fight against the tough opponents.
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