Former India head coach Ravi Shastri is fearing the worst after Rishabh Pant was taken to the hospital following scans on Day 1 of the Manchester Test against England. The left-handed batter inside edged a reverse sweep onto his foot off the bowling of Chris Woakes in the final session. He immediately grimaced in pain, and the physio came charging out. For a few minutes, he received treatment on the ground. However, he was unable to put any weight on his foot, and hence he had to be taken off with the help of a golf cart-like vehicle.
Rishabh Pant received treatment at the medical facility on the ground, and just minutes before the close of play, he was rushed to the hospital for scans. The reports are awaited, but it looks unlikely that the wicketkeeper would play any further part in the must-win tie for India. Even India captain Shubman Gill rushed to the medical facility to check up on Pant.
Ravi Shastri reckons Pant’s injury will get worse overnight, no matter how much icing is done on his foot. The former India head coach painted a gloomy picture as all of India wishes Pant a speedy recovery.
“Just seeing his face, grimacing there. He has a pain threshold that’s very high, and for him to be grimacing in pain in that fashion makes it very serious. It can only get worse overnight,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.
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“When you get up in the morning, it can be really sore, no matter the amount of ice you put. He will be icing it through the night. Let’s hope it’s not a break or it’s not a crack,” he added.
India’s effort after being asked to bat
At stumps, India’s score read 264/4 with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur at the crease. The duo are unbeaten on 19 each. Sai Sudharsan was the top scorer for India as he played a knock of 61 runs off 151 balls.
However, the left-hander lost his wicket against the run of play as he fell to a short ball plan, executed perfectly by England captain Ben Stokes.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul also contributed 58 and 46, respectively. Rishabh Pant was looking solid in the middle and was batting on 37 when the foot injury happened.
Pant and Sai Sudharsan were threatening to take the game away. However, his injury let England get a foot into the door and soon after, Stokes ended up taking the wicket of Sai Sudharsan.
A total of 83 overs were bowled on the first day. However, bad light forced for early stumps call by the on-field umpires.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
