The former England captain Michael Atherton has expressed concern over wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant’s injury, warning it could rule him out of the remainder of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Patn was forced to retire hurt on Day 01 of the fourth test at Old Trafford after taking a blow on his right foot while attempting a sweep from an overpitched delivery from Chris Woakes.
The ball struck him on the toe, prompting an immediate appeal for leg before wicket. While a review showed a faint inside edge, saving Pant from dismissal, the damage had already been done.
He scored 37 runs off 48 deliveries at the time and received treatment on the field before taken off on a golf cart marked as an ambulance.
Blood was seeping from his right foot, which swelled significantly. An official update on the extent of his injury is expected soon.
This is the second injury in the series. During the third test at Lord’s he sustained a finger injury while keeping wicket, which prevented him from taking the gloves in England’s second innings.
Speaking at the injury, Michael Atherton said, “If he is out of the game if he’s out of the series, then that’s a massive blow to India and puts the day in a different light. That 264 for four becomes 264 for five, and with the new ball due, there’s a potential for England to wrap things up fairly quickly tomorrow.”
“But if he returns to bat, he could change the game. So there is an uncertainty which we don’t yet know. But it looked quite a serious injury-because you don’t get carted off otherwise.”
Sai Sudharsan provided an update on Pant’s injury. “He was in a lot of pain, definitely, but he’s gone for scans. We’ll probably get the information tomorrow. Obviously, he’ll be a big miss-he was batting really well today, and we lose a batter if he doesn’t return,” he said.
“But at the same time, the batters out there and the all-rounders in the side will do their best to bat long and absorb the pressure. We’ll try to manage the loss as best we can,” concluded Sudharsan.
BCCI has also provided update on the wk-batter after the end of the day 01 game ag Manchester.
Batting first, India went on to score 264 runs for four wickets by the end of day 01. Sai Sudharsan and Jaiswal slammed fifties and with Pant’s retire hurt, Jadeja and Shardul Thakur were at crease by the stumps at Manchester.
