Despite fracturing his toe during the 4th Test against England, Rishabh Pant returned to bat, scoring a gritty 54. His resilience earned a standing ovation and high praise from coach Ravi Shastri for inspiring the team with sheer determination.
Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant showed his grit, resilience, and valiance when he walked out to bat with a fractured toe on Day 2 of the ongoing fourth Test in the five-match series against England at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday, July 24.
Pant was batting on 37 off 47 on Day 2 of the Manchester Test when Chris Woakes’s yorker delivery hit his right foot while he was attempting a reverse sweep, but he missed it completely. The southpaw was writhing in pain and called for medical attention before he was walked off the field in a buggy ambulance as he was unable to stand or walk. Later, he was taken to the hospital for scans and revealed that Pant had suffered a fracture in his toe.
Despite injury in his foot, Rishabh Pant was determined to go out and continue his batting and played a gritty innings of 54 off 75 balls before being dismissed by Jofra Archer. While walking out to bat, Pant received a standing ovation from the crowd at Old Trafford.
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‘Toota bhi ho, toh khelta'
Amid Rishabh Pant’s brave return to the crease despite a fractured toe, Ravi Shastri revealed the conversation with the southpaw before the Manchester Test. In a video posted by the Indian Cricket Team on its Instagram handle,
Shastri stated that he asked Pant whether he would play the fourth Test despite a finger injury, but he expressed his willingness to play if the finger was broken.
“Before this Test, I asked him, “Before the Test I asked him, "how is the finger, tuta toh nahi hal" . He said, 'Of course, I will play this game. Tuta bhi hota toh bhi khelta." Shastri reveals.
Ravi Shastri was referring to Rishabh Pant’s finger injury sustained during his wicketkeeping duties on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test. Pant was sidelined from keeping the wickets, with Dhruv Jurel donning the gloves behind the stumps.
However, Pant walked in to bat with an injured finger in both innings and scored 83, including a gritty 74 off 112 balls in the first innings. Despite speculations of his unavailability for the Manchester Test, Rishabh Pant recovered from a finger injury in time and was available as a wicketkeeper-batter.
‘That’s what makes heroes’
Further speaking about Rishabh Pant’s grit and determination to walk out to bat despite an injured foot, Ravi Shastri praised the southpaw’s inspirational comeback, emphasising his passion, resilience, and impact on the team. He further said that Rishabh Pant’s decision to come out and bat with a fractured toe has reflected his deep love for Test cricket.
“For him to come back and do what he did was something special. Because sometimes your motivation goes to another level. What he did today for the team, if that doesn’t lift the team up, nothing will. The ovation he got going out and the one he got coming back,” Shastri said in a video by BCCI.
“And the applause he got from everyone from the England team out there, that's what you live for. What you play for. And that’s what makes heroes. So it shows what he wants, he wants to play, he loves playing Test cricket, for the country.
“If anyone doubted whether he was a team man, they got to see it first-hand today. That requires more than just steel," he added.
Rishabh Pant has been in impressive form in the ongoing Test series against England, as he has amassed 479 runs, including two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 68.43 in seven innings so far.
However, Rishabh is likely to be ruled out of the fifth and final Test at The Oval and Tamil Nadu cricketer N Jagadeesha is expected to replace him in the squad.
