Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes it was Rishabh Pant's decision alone to come out and bat on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England, despite suffering a fracture on his right foot on Day 1. Manjrekar ruled out the possibility of head coach Gautam Gambhir or captain Shubman Gill urging Pant to bat and help India in the must-win clash.
Pant injured himself late on Wednesday while attempting a reverse sweep to a yorker-length delivery from Chris Woakes. He was visibly in pain, carted off the field, and later taken to a hospital for scans. Reports suggested a six-week rest period, effectively ending his England tour.
Yet, in a stunning show of grit, Pant walked out to bat after Shardul Thakur's dismissal during the first session on Day 2. He went on to complete his half-century, adding 17 runs to his overnight 37, as India crossed the 350-run mark.
Speaking to JioStar at Lunch, Manjrekar said that when visuals showed Pant at the venue, chatting with Gambhir in the dressing room, he expected him to bat as the last man. But he admitted being surprised by the 25-year-old's decision to walk in next.
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"When Pant was there with Gautam Gambhir, having a chat, we thought there was a chance that he might come in maybe at the end of the Innings, and the kind of demeanour that he had in the dressing room is such a hard man to read. Who would have thought that he would be coming into bat at the fall of the next wicket? He hasn't looked like he did before the injury, and Ben Stokes, the first ball that he bowled to him was a yorker. He was going for that front foot, ankle off stump. That's how cricket has to be. But now we have to cast our minds back to batters of certain pedigree and class who have hobbled onto the middle, have done some wondrous things in cricket. And don't rule that out with this guy, because this is the guy. You know, it is said that one day you can't move your feet, you can only bat with your bat. He's got such wonderful hand-eye coordination that he'll still be able to dominate. So England would be worried that it was shut down. Go back, you know, even though he looked really clearly in pain," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"When Pant was there with Gautam Gambhir, having a chat, we thought there was a chance that he might come in maybe at the end of the Innings, and the kind of demeanour that he had in the dressing room is such a hard man to read. Who would have thought that he would be coming into bat at the fall of the next wicket? He hasn't looked like he did before the injury, and Ben Stokes, the first ball that he bowled to him was a yorker. He was going for that front foot, ankle off stump. That's how cricket has to be. But now we have to cast our minds back to batters of certain pedigree and class who have hobbled onto the middle, have done some wondrous things in cricket. And don't rule that out with this guy, because this is the guy. You know, it is said that one day you can't move your feet, you can only bat with your bat. He's got such wonderful hand-eye coordination that he'll still be able to dominate. So England would be worried that it was shut down. Go back, you know, even though he looked really clearly in pain," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Manjrekar even compared Pant's act to that of India legend Anil Kumble, who had bowled with a broken jaw during the 2002 Antigua Test against the West Indies. The former India captain was hit on the jaw while batting on Day 2 of the match by a bouncer from Mervyn Dillon, with scans revealing that he had suffered a fracture and that doctors advised him immediate surgery.
"Because today, you know, it doesn't matter whether you made the contribution now or you make it later. I think it'll come out in the second innings. What he's thinking is that I'm out for the next Test, and I don't know when I'm going to play for India next. So, might as well go out there and get things done. And this has been him on his own deciding I'm going to go out there, and he must have enjoyed his time until the injury, and when you do things like this, gestures like this with Anil Kumble with the jaw strapped up, those are moments in history that you remember 50 years from now," Manjrekar added.
The former India batter concluded by saying he saw no possibility of anyone in the Indian dressing room requesting Rishabh Pant to bat, and therefore believed it was entirely the batter's own decision. Manjrekar also felt the act reflected Pant's deep love for Test cricket.
"I can't imagine Gautam Gambhir or the captain pleading with him or sussing him out whether he would be going out there because that would help India. Because it's too much to ask, and I forgot about the finger injury because of this. He's got that as well to worry about. But he was very keen to play this test match, and he had the option of playing only as a batter because Jurel is there as an optional keeper, and KL Rahul is as well. So this shows how keen Pant is to turn up for India, and something about, I guess, Tests to get where it's being played, look at the amount of attention that you get as a cricketer when you play Test cricket in England. So this is where he wants to, you know, give his best. If you wonder why he hasn't quite made the same impact in white ball cricket, maybe this is the reason why, because he wants to leave a mark on this format more than the others."