Rishabh Pant injury update: Massive blow to India as fracture suspected for keeper-batter

Rishabh Pant is back in the news, but this time for a gruesome foot injury he suffered during day one of the Manchester Test against England. Pant was batting on 37 when a failed reverse-lap off Chris Woakes resulted in him cracking his right foot, with a golf cart needed to take him off the field. Although BCCI’s official update reads that the medical team is monitoring his injury, former cricket great and Pant’s IPL coach Ricky Ponting fears a potential ‘metatarsal injury’, suspecting a fracture. Should that be the case, Pant would get ruled out of the ongoing Test, or perhaps this series, which Team India trails by 1-2.

Pant looked in utter pain after the ball ramped onto the top-right side of his foot, which seemed even worse after he took off his shoe. Ponting, who worked with Pant during his time at the Delhi Capitals, fears the Indian keeper could be out for the remainder of this series in a massive blow to the visitors.

WATCH VIDEO -

"He (Pant) 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," Ponting said of Pant’s foot injury.

"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.

"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.

Pant’s injury did dent India’s momentum on day one, with Sai Sudharsan, who walked into the XI in place of under-fire Karun Nair, losing his wicket soon after, with two all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur, taking control of India’s innings.

‘Pant could be out for the series’

Besides Ponting, broadcaster Michael Atherton also suspects the same fate for Pant, saying he looks unlikely to play any part in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy; and should this be the case, India will fall on the back foot with the series and history on the line.

"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 that new ball due, there is a potential to knock India over reasonably swiftly tomorrow. But if he returns to bat, he could change the game. So there is an uncertainty which we don't know. But it looked like a quite serious injury, because you don't get carted off otherwise," Atherton said of Pant’s injury.