India batter Karun Nair singled out Rishabh Pant’s gritty decision to bat while injured in Manchester as the standout moment of the Test series against England. With India trailing 1-2 in the five-match contest, Pant had reached 37 in the first innings of the fourth Test before missing a full delivery from Chris Woakes and injuring his toe, forcing him to retire hurt.
Overnight scans revealed a fracture, ruling him out for the remainder of the series. Despite this, Rishabh Pant returned to the crease the next morning, adding a vital 17 runs to India’s total. Looking back on the incident in a chat with ESPN Cricinfo a week after the series, Nair remarked:
“To see Rishabh walk out to bat with a broken toe – it was one of the moments of the series. It was astonishing for everyone to see. It told you what a great player he is, and more importantly, the person he is. That kind of exemplified the philosophy of the team. Of putting everything first for the team, it’s not about individuals.”
Karun Nair Reveals Gautam Gambhir’s Message Against Calling Team A ‘Transition Phase’
Karun Nair shared that head coach Gautam Gambhir firmly told the players not to view themselves as a side in transition. The touring team was missing three senior figures — Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, who had recently retired from Test cricket.
India also entered the series after back-to-back defeats, losing 0-3 to New Zealand and 1-3 to Australia in their previous two Test campaigns.
“Right at the very beginning, Gauti bhai said, he doesn’t want us to look at it as a team in transition. He didn’t want us to feel that way. The first message we got was ‘this isn’t a young team, this is a gun team and everyone must feel it from within’.”
“The messaging within the group was that everyone plays for the team and supports each other. It’s one thing for the coach or the captain to say it, but to feel it was amazing,” said Nair.
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