England spinner Liam Dawson reckons Rishabh Pant will take no further part in the Manchester Test after the India vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter suffered a gruesome injury on the opening day. The left-handed batter went for a reverse sweep off the bowling of Chris Woakes and, in the process, ended up injuring his foot. The batter was in tremendous pain and had to be taken off the field. He also underwent scans at the nearest hospital, and the reports are awaited.
The 27-year-old's foot was badly swollen, as the live visuals showed, and he looked in unbearable pain after inside edging an attempted reverse sweep onto his right foot. He managed to survive the LBW appeal and the subsequent DRS. However, his inability to put any weight on his foot was a major worrying sign.
Rishabh Pant was then taken off the field with the help of a golf-style buggy. He received medical attention from India's physio and was taken to the medical facility on the ground. The Indian captain, Shubman Gill, also went to see him there.
Dawson, speaking to reporters after stumps on Day 1, said that he doesn't see Pant taking any further part in the match as his injury looked quite bad.
“Hope he’s alright. Didn’t look great, that. Obviously, thoughts with him. He’s a big player for them. I don’t think we’ll see him again in this game,” said Dawson.
{{/usCountry}}“Hope he’s alright. Didn’t look great, that. Obviously, thoughts with him. He’s a big player for them. I don’t think we’ll see him again in this game,” said Dawson.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Rishabh Pant rushed to Manchester hospital for scans; Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill worried
Pant was looking really good in the middle, and he was involved in a stand of more than 50 runs with Sai Sudharsan. The left-handed batter was batting on 37 off 48 balls when the incident happened. His innings also included a slog sweep off the bowling of Jofra Archer.
At stumps on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, India's score read 264/4 in 83 overs with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur batting on 19 each.
What Sai Sudharsan said?
Sai Sudharsan, who was at the non-striker's end at that time, said Pant was in a lot of pain. The team management is just hoping the scans do not reveal something more serious than what meets the eye.
“Obviously, he was batting really well. We will miss a batter if he doesn't come back again. So it will definitely have consequences, but at the same time, the batters we have batting right now, and there are a few more all-rounders inside,” said Sudharsan.
“So we will try and give our best and bat long so that we negotiate that loss well,” he added.
This is the second injury that Rishabh Pant has faced in as many matches. In the previous Test at Lord's, Pant had suffered a blow on his left index finger while wicketkeeping during England's first innings.
Dhruv Jurel then came in as a substitute wicketkeeper, and there are high chances of this happening in the ongoing Manchester Test as well.