MANCHESTER, England (AP) — India’s Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the final test against England with a foot fracture.
India coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed Pant’s injury for the first time after the visitors salvaged a draw in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Pant retired hurt on day one when taken off the field on a cart with his foot badly swollen but he returned, limping, on day 2 to reach a half century.
“It’s been declared that he’s out of the series, and one thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on something Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well,” Gambhir said. “Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot.
“I think the generations to come forward will talk about it and the generations coming forward should talk about it.”
Pant was injured when attempting a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes and the ball deflected onto his right ankle and foot.
India did not confirm at the time the extent of the injury, but he was replaced as wicket-keeper by Dhruv Jurel for the remainder of the match.
He wasn’t required to bat in India’s second innings, with the visitors earning a draw in Manchester after Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar (101 not out) all reached centuries on the final day.
Pant’s injury has raised the question of substitutions in test cricket, but England captain Ben Stokes described the debate as “ridiculous”.
“There would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through,” he said. “You pick your 11 for a game. Injuries is part of the game.”
England leads the series 2-1 going into the final test at the Oval next week.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
James Robson, The Associated Press
