India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant looked to be in good touch when he came out to bat with his side on 140/3 on the first day of the Manchester Test against England. After playing some fine shots and providing some much-needed stability to the Men in Blue, the 27-year-old attempted to go for a reverse-sweep off pacer Chris Woakes. However, this is where it all ended up going horribly wrong for the left-hander.
Pant was hit hard on his toe and the physio was brought in as soon as possible, but after not being able to recover, he was taken off the field on a golf cart. Ahead of the second day of the Manchester Test, BCCI have provided a worrisome update on the star's injury,
"Rishabh Pant was hit on his right foot while batting on Day 1 of the Manchester Test. He was taken for scans from the stadium. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” BCCI said after the end of Day 1.
Notably, this is the second injury that Pant has sustained in the ongoing series as he had also injured his index finger during the third match at Lord's. That injury had prevented him from keeping the stumps and it was Dhruv Jurel who had replaced him in that role for the match.
Sudharsan also provided an update on Pant's injury
Following the conclusion of Day 1, India batter Sai Sudharsan, who had earlier slammed his maiden fifty in red-ball cricket with his knock of 61, also gave an update on Pant's injury and stated that if the wicketkeeper-batter gets ruled out of the series, then the Men in Blue will have to face severe consequences.
"Obviously, because he (Pant) was batting really well today as well. So, and plus we miss out, miss a batter if he doesn't come back again," Sudharsan said at the post-day press-conference.
"So, it will definitely have consequences. But at the same time, the batters who are batting right now and there are a few more all-rounders inside. So, we'll try and give our best and bat long so that we negotiate that loss very well," he added.
Meanwhile, India wrapped up the first day at Old Trafford after posting 264 runs on the loss of four wickets. Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan scored fifties during the day and played key role in getting the visitors into a strong position. Hopwever, Pant's injury saw the side end the day on a not so positive positive note. With both Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur being unbeaten on 19, it remains to be seen how big of a total will the Men in Blue manage to post in their first innings.