Australian legend Ricky Ponting feels that the left-handed batter’s injury doesn’t look good for India, and the immediate swelling has concerned him.
The veteran batter got injured on day 01 of the Manchester Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy while he was trying to go for a reverse sweep in a delivery from Chris Woakes.
Pant was batting on 37 off 48 deliveries when he tried a reverse sweep, but only managed to inside-edge the ball onto his foot. He survived the LBW appeal and the DRS, but was in immediate pain as the Physio came to check his injuries.
He was unable to stand properly and left the field in the golf-cart-like vehicle. He was also sent to the hospital, and reports are awaited. At this stage, it is unlikely that Pant will take part in the contest.
Speaking on Pant’s injruy, Ricky Ponting said, “He hardly put his foot on the ground. He rolled around for 6-8 minutes before the golf cart came in. The immediate swelling was the worry for me. I’ve had a metatarsal injury myself, and they’re small, fragile bones.”
“The fact that he couldn’t put any weight on it doesn’t look good at all. If it’s broken, he will be out of the game. If it’s not, then they will do anything they can to get him back out there. Hopefully, he doesn’t play any more reverse sweeps,” he added.
Batting first, Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul amassed 58 and 46 runs, respectively. Meanwhile Sai Sudharsan added 61 runs on the board, alongside skipper Shubman Gill, who departed after adding 12 runs on the board.
After Rishabh Pant retired hurt on a score of 37 runs, day 01 of the clash ended with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur standing on the crease on scores of 19* runs each.
“Thinking about the situation of the game as well, Shardul has come out and played nicely, but with the way Rishabh plays and the momentum he brings to the Indian team, that is what they will potentially miss the most. Someone who can put the pressure on the opposition,” said Ponting.
“For Indian fans, keep fingers crossed and hope it is not as serious as it looks. If he is out of the remainder of the game, then that leaves a massive dent on India’s chance, not only in this game, but the remainder of the series,” he added.
By the end of day 01, BCCI issued an update on Pant saying the wk-batter is being monitored by the Medical Team after undergoing scans at the hospital.
India secured scored 264 runs for four wickets as day 01 game came to end at Manchester.
