India wicketkeeper-batter is expected to miss the upcoming Test series against West Indies as the 27-year-old has still not fully recovered from the toe fracture that he sustained during the fourth Test of the five-match series against England in July. With the Men in Blue's upcoming red-ball assignment set to commence from October 2, Pant will not be able to recover in time.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, Pant is undergoing strength and conditioning at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The report further stated that he is yet to resume batting and there is no guarantee as to when he will be able to return to India's Test set-up. The wicketkeeper-batteer may also end up missing out on the white-ball tour against Australia which will begin from October 19.
The report claimed that Dhruv Jurel will be the one to take up the wicketkeeping duties for India in the place of Pant for the upcoming series against West Indies. This comes after Jurel recently featured in India A's first unofficial Test against Australia A and ended up scoring a fantastic century. The 24-year-old's knock of 140 runs massively helped the Men in Blue in taking the lead in the match despite the visitors having put up a humongous total of 532/6 on the board in their first innings. He will be hoping to get a chance in India's playing XI for the Tests against West Indies.
Padikkal to make Test comeback?
Another claim that the report made is that Devdutt Padikkal is being considered for the upcoming series against the Windies folllowing his heroics for India A. The left-hand batter played a sensational knock of 150 runs in the first Test against Australia A and this can see him get a place in the Men in Blue's squad for the upcoming red-ball assignment. His previous appearance in the longest format came in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series 2024/25 against Australia and will definitely be eager to make a comeback into the squad.
Big blow for India
Meanwhile, Pant missing out on the West Indies Tests will be nothing short of a massive setback for India. The 27-year-old was in top form in the longest format and dominated against England bowlers throughout the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He finished the series with 479 runs from only nine innings, scoring two centuries and three fifties.