Former India head coach Ravi Shastri shared his thoughts on Rishabh Pant’s injury ahead of the fourth Test against England. The ongoing five-match series resumes on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford in Manchester. Pant injured his finger during the third Test, leading to Dhruv Jurel stepping in as a substitute wicketkeeper.
Despite the injury, Pant batted in both innings. Speaking on the ICC Review Podcast, Shastri suggested that Pant should not feature in the next match solely as a batter.
“I don’t think he should go in as a specialist batter if he can’t keep because he will have to field. If he fields, that will be worse. With the gloves at least there is some protection. Without gloves, if he gets something that stings in there, then it won’t be very good. It’ll only worsen the injury,” he said.
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Ravi Shastri emphasized the need to properly evaluate Rishabh Pant’s injury. He believes that if it turns out to be a fracture, Pant should sit out the fourth Test and aim to return fully fit for the final match at The Oval. Shastri noted India may not have the luxury of a substitute keeper again, so Pant might need to both keep and bat in the next Test.
“You’ve got to see if it is a break. If it is a break or a fracture, then he rather rests it and comes fully fit at The Oval. He won’t get a substitute now. Now they’ll know that he has been injured. When you pick the team for the next Test, he’ll have to keep and he’ll have to bat. He can’t do one of the two. It’s if it is fully fit. If it is not a crack, I think he’ll play. There’s still about eight to nine days so it should be okay,” Shastri added.
Ten Doeschate Shares Crucial Update On Rishabh Pant
India’s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate spoke about Rishabh Pant’s injury and his prospects for the fourth Test. During a press conference, he mentioned that the team is not keen on leaving Pant out of the lineup.
“He will bat in Manchester before the Test. I don’t think you want to keep Rishabh out of the Test, no matter what. He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third Test and it’s only going to get easier and easier on his finger.”
“Keeping is obviously the last part of the process to make sure he can keep. We don’t want to go through that again, where we have to replace the keeper halfway through an innings. He rested today, hopefully, he is good to go in Manchester,” he said.
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