INDIA’S TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Pant sustained a foot fracture on Day 2 in Manchester while batting. © Getty
As feared, Rishabh Pant will miss the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval after sustaining a fracture to his right foot during the Manchester game. Indian selectors have officially confirmed Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter N Jagadeesan as Pant’s replacement.
Pant sustained the injury while batting on Day 2 after being struck on the boot while attempting a scoop off a Chris Woakes delivery. He subsequently had to be driven off the field and the injury was confirmed as a fracture the same evening. Pant is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks.
Despite the seriousness of the injury, much to public amazement, Pant returned to resume his innings the following day and also managed to bring up fifty before being dismissed. He was not required to bat during India’s second innings as a dogged fight from KL Rahul and the middle-order eked out a hard-fought draw.
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir lauded Pant’s efforts following the draw in Manchester. “One thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on what Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well. Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot. Not many people have done that in the past. And he had put his hand up, and that is why I say any amount of praise – I can sit here and talk about this for hours and hours. I think the generations to come forward will talk about this.
“It’s unfortunate because of the kind of form he was in. But again, he’s an important member of the Test side. And I hope he recovers quickly and comes back quickly,” he said.
In the lead up to the fourth Test, India also had to contend with injuries to Akash Deep (groin injury), Arshdeep Singh (finger injury) and Nitish Reddy (knee injury). While Nitish was ruled out of the series, India have confirmed the return of both Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh for the series decider in London.
India’s squad for fifth Test: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK)
© Cricbuzz
