Pant suffered a fractured foot in Manchester, while Woakes separated his shoulder at Oval.
With just 17 runs needed to complete their target of 374, England all-rounder Chris Woakes supported Gus Atkinson by coming out to bat on Monday with his arm in a sling. Like Atkinson, who tried to lead England to victory, Woakes was greeted like a hero and stood at the non-striker's end.
But Mohammed Siraj remained composed and hammered Atkinson with a fiery yorker, giving India a thrilling six-run victory and tying the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at 2-2.
Throughout the series, there has been discussion over injury substitutions. Michael Vaughan, the former captain of England, had pushed for it, particularly when Rishabh Pant was injured and had to be carted off the field.
Former India off-spinner R. Ashwin attacked England captain Ben Stokes on his Hindi YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat, saying that Stokes had called the proposal "ridiculous" when questioned about it earlier in the series.
"What you sow is what you reap. At Old Trafford, after Rishabh Pant’s injury, the press conference included questions about injury substitution. Gautam Gambhir had said that injuries like these warrant substitutions. Immediately after, the same question was asked to Ben Stokes, and he said, ‘It’s absolutely a joke,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“I’m a big fan of Ben Stokes. I admire his attitude. But you need to think before you speak. Today, Chris Woakes walked out with his shoulder tucked into his sweater and gave it his all to help the team win. He almost did it. He was running, showing immense game awareness. Hats off to Chris Woakes—remarkable attitude, remarkable fight, putting his body on the line,” Ashwin added.
He even added that Vaughan's point about allowing substitutions is worth considering: “Michael Vaughan said this is one area where the game can evolve. Substitutions should be allowed.”
“All I’m saying is: show a little empathy for the other team. Stokes should have considered what it would be like if a player of Rishabh Pant’s caliber were on his team and got injured. Wouldn’t you want a substitution? Wouldn’t that be fair? You are free to share your opinion—but using words like ‘joke’ and ‘ridiculous’ isn’t respectful. Think before you speak. Karma hits instantly,” Ashwin added.