ENG vs IND: Injury Scare for India as Rishabh Pant Retires Hurt on Day 1 of Manchester Test (WATCH)

Rishabh Pant suffered an injury to his right foot while batting during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. The incident occurred when he attempted a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes' delivery, forcing him to retire hurt on 37.

Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant suffered yet another injury on Day 1 of the fourth Test in the ongoing five-match series against England at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday, July 23.

Pant was recovered from his finger injury, which he sustained during the Lord’s Test, and he made himself available to play as wicketkeeper-batter rather than purely as a batter for the Manchester Test. However, the southpaw gave the visitors yet another injury setback as he retired hurt after coping a blow on his right foot.

Rishabh Pant walked in to bat after Shubman Gill’s dismissal at 140/3 and joined Sai Sudharsan at the crease to carry on India’s innings. The southpaw was in a good rhythm, smashing two boundaries and a six, while building a strong partnership with Sudharsan in order to keep England's bowling attack at bay, as the pair hoped for no fall of wickets at the close of play.

Rishabh Pant’s innings came to a sudden halt

Rishabh Pant was in good touch and looking to complete his third fifty of the ongoing series until his innings came to an abrupt halt after sustaining an injury on his right leg. The incident took place in the 68th over of India’s first innings when Pant attempted premeditated reverse sweep off Chris Woakes’ delivery.

However, Pant completely missed the shot as the ball hit his boot, as it was a slower delivery by Woakes. England opted for DRS after the on-field umpire gave not out and the technology confirmed it was an under-edge that deflected onto his boot, saving him from an LBW dismissal. The blow on his foot left Rishabh Pant visibly discomfort as he was jumping around until physio was called in for treatment.

The southpaw lay on the ground for the treatment, but was unable to stand up and was taken off the field on a small ambulance. With this, Rishabh Pant retired hurt on 37 off 46 balls and Ravindra Jadeja was called in to bat.

There is another blow for Team India, who are already grappling with injury setbacks. Ahead of the Manchester Test, the visitors received a triple blow as Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the remainder of the series due to a knee injury sustained during a gym session in Beckenham, while Arshdeep Singh (Thumb) and Akash Deep (Groin) suffered respective injuries, making them unavailable for the fourth Test.

Will Rishabh Pant return for remaining match at Old Trafford?

There is uncertainty over Rishabh Pant’s further participation in the remaining match at Old Trafford as the injury to his right leg appeared serious, and team management is likely to take a final call after detailed medical assessment.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to release an official statement, just like they did when Pant sustained an injury on his index finger, which sidelined from wicketkeeping duties at Lord’s, clarifying the extent of his latest injury and whether he will be fit to bat or keep wickets in the remaining innings of the Manchester Test.

Pant’s latest injury is a big blow to Team India as he has been in impressive form in his third Test tour of England. In seven innings thus far, Rishabh Pant has amassed 462 runs, including two centuries and as many fifties, at an average of 77.00.

Before retiring hurt, Rishabh Pant achieved the feat of becoming the first visiting wicketkeeper-batter to amass 1000 Test runs in England.