India vs England 3rd Test: With Rishabh Pant injured midway and Dhruv Jurel taking over as wicketkeeper, can Jurel bat in his place? Here’s what ICC regulations say

India faced a huge blow in the ongoing third Test match of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 as vice captain Rishabh Pant injured his hand shortly after the the lunch interval while trying to take a delivery angled down the leg side from Jasprit Bumrah which Ollie Pope had missed, the ball struck Pant on the end of his fingers.

He was in severe pain before leaving the field midway alongside physios, and play had to be stopped for some time in order for him to receive treatment. After the Indian physio sprayed his hand with 'magic spray' and applied more tape to his fingers, Pant was able to continue keeping for the rest of the over.

However, after Bumrah's over, Pant left the field and substitute wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel came out to take over the gloves. A substitute fielder is allowed to keep wicket under the ICC Test Playing Conditions, which state: "A substitute shall not bowl or act as captain but may act as wicket-keeper only with the consent of the umpires."

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So this means Jurel is there in place of Pant is fully within the ICC rules. But, Jurel will not be able to bat for Pant if his injury prevents him from doing so, with the playing conditions going on to state: "Only a nominated player may bat and... may do so even though a substitute fielder has previously acted for him."

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Rishabh Pant injury update

Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant got hit on his left index finger.  He is receiving treatment at the moment and is under the supervision of the medical team. Dhruv Jurel is currently keeping wickets in Rishabh's absence. said BCCI in an official release. 
 

ICC to trial full injury replacement

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will trial allowing full injury replacements in domestic first-class cricket. A statement from the board read that during the trial, "A player who suffers a serious injury on the field of play at any time after the match has started (including any pre-match warm-up period) may be replaced for the remainder of the match by a fully participating like-for-like player."

However, the trial is not set to begin until October this year, and will last for a six-month period initially. So if Rishabh Pant is unable to bat, then the Shubman Gill-led side will be a player down. They will, however, be able to use Jurel behind the stumps for both innings if necessary.

Currently, the ICC have allowed full replacement of an injured player in the playing XI if they suffer a concussion. In that scenario, like-for-like replacements are permitted from a list of designated replacements, which each team submits before the match – another change to playing conditions.