MANCHESTER – India’s Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the final test against England with a foot fracture.
India’s coach, Gautam Gambhir, announced for the first time Pant’s injury following the team’s draw in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Pant was forced to leave the field on a cart with a severely swollen foot on day one, but he heroically returned on day two, despite limping, to score a half-century.
“It’s confirmed that he’s out of the series, and I want to acknowledge that the essence and strength of this team are reflected in Rishabh’s contributions for both the team and the nation,” Gambhir stated. “His efforts, especially batting with a broken foot, deserve endless admiration.”
“I think the generations to come forward will talk about it and the generations coming forward should talk about it.”
Pant was injured when attempting a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes and the ball deflected onto his right ankle and foot.
India did not confirm at the time the extent of the injury, but he was replaced as wicket-keeper by Dhruv Jurel for the remainder of the match.
He wasn’t required to bat in India’s second innings, with the visitors earning a draw in Manchester after Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar (101 not out) all reached centuries on the final day.
Pant’s injury has raised the question of substitutions in test cricket, but England captain Ben Stokes described the debate as “ridiculous”.
“There would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through,” he said. “You pick your 11 for a game. Injuries is part of the game.”
England leads the series 2-1 going into the final test at the Oval next week.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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