India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against England due to a fractured toe. According to a report by The Indian Express, the 27-year-old has been advised a rest of six weeks because of the injury and thus, will miss out on the fifth and final Test of the series which is set to commence from July 31 at the Oval in London.
The injury occurred during the 68th bover of India's innings when Pant attempted to hit a reverse-sweep off a delivery from Chris Woakes. The ball ended up hitting Pant's right foot and following this, he wasn't able to stand properly. He was forced to retire hurt on 37 and was taken to a nearby hospital for scans.
Will Pant bat in India's second innings?
The report further stated that Team India has asked the medical team to check if Pant can bat in the second innings of the Manchester Test after taking a painkiller. If Pant is unable to play in the second innings, then the Men in Blue will fall a man short and this could turn out to be fatal for them especially with the series being on the line in the fourth Test.
“The scan report showed a fracture and he is ruled out for six weeks. The medical team is trying to see if he can come out to bat again by taking a pain killer. He still needs support to walk though and chances of his batting looks very bleak,” a BCCI source told The Indian Express.
Notably, this is the second injury that Pant has sustained in the series against England as he had injured his left index finger in the third Test at Lord's. This saw him not being able to keep wickets for the rest of the match and Dhruv Jurel was called in as his replacement to fulfill the wicketkeeping duties for the Men in Blue.
Pant had been in fine form in the series against England, scoring 462 runs in seven innings. He was among the highest run-getters for the series, but is now likely to miss out on the remainder of the series. It remains to be seen which player will India choose as the 27-year-old's replacement in their playing XI.