After a forgettable batting display, things got from bad to worse as Rishabh Pant, India’s top scorer in the first innings of the first Test against England, walked off the field after suffering an injury.
The southpaw was the only Indian batter who touched the 20-run mark as the hosts were bowled out for 46 – their lowest total at home.
© BCCI
During the 37th over of New Zealand innings, Pant, after missing a stumping chance of the Kiwi opener Devon Conway, suffered a nasty blow to his right knee as he failed to collect the ball.
He left the field almost instantly and was replaced by stand-in wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. KL Rahul could have been the other option to take the gloves in his absence, but the management tasked Jurel with the wicketkeeping duties.
© BCCI
Asked about Pant’s injury at the end of the day’s play, Indian captain Rohit Sharma revealed that the southpaw got hit on the same knee which underwent massive surgery after his freak car accident.
He further highlighted that the ball hit him straight on the same knee cap which was severely injured during that accident, keeping him out of action for over a year.
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The blow resulted in a swelling and the player and the team management didn’t want to take any risks.
“Unfortunately, the ball hit straight on his knee cap, the same leg on which he has got a surgery done. So he has got a bit of swelling on it,” Rohit said in the press conference at the end of Day 2 in Bengaluru.
“And you know the muscles are quite tender at this point in time, so it's a precautionary measure. We don't want to take a risk,” he added.
© BCCI
The Indian skipper was optimistic Rishabh Pant would recover overnight and hoped to see him on the field when the play resumed on the third day.
“Rishabh doesn't want to take a risk because he has gone through a massive surgery on that particular leg. That was the reason for him to go inside. Hopefully, at night he can recover and we will see him back on the field tomorrow,” he concluded.
The assurance from Rohit Sharma that it was more of a precautionary measure than anything else has given a huge sigh of relief to the Indian cricket fans.
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