Former India coach Ravi Shastri hailed keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's daring choice to bat despite injury in the Manchester Test, calling it a watershed event in Indian cricket. On Day 1 at Old Trafford, the left-handed Pant was hit by a yorker from Chris Woakes and retired hurt at 37.
The injury put him in excruciating discomfort, but he returned the next day with India behind at 314 for six. Despite hobbling and struggling to run, Pant managed to score 54 off 75 balls, including three boundaries and two sixes. His effort helped India reach 358 and gave the team a significant boost.
“For him to come back and do what he did was something special. Because sometimes your motivation goes to another level. What he did today for the team, if that doesn’t lift the team up, nothing will. The ovation he got going out and the one he got coming back. And the applause he got from everyone from the England team out there, that's what you live for. What do you play for. And that’s what makes heroes. So it shows what he wants, he wants to play, he loves playing Test cricket, for the country. If anyone doubted whether he was a team man, they got to see it first-hand today. That requires more than just steel,” Shastri said in a video uploaded on BCCI’s official website.
Ravi Shastri had a brief but illuminating conversation with Rishabh Pant before the Manchester Test, which provided light on the wicketkeeper's determined mindset.
Shastri, concerned about Pant's injury at Lord's, inquired whether his finger was broken and if he would be able to play. Pant's response was immediate and unwavering—he assured Shastri that he would play regardless of his injury.
“Before the Test, I asked him, ‘How’s the finger? Toota to nahi hain? (Isn’t it broken?) Will you play this game?’ He said ‘Of course, I will play, toota bhi hota to khelta (I would have played even if my finger was broken’,” Shastri said.
England made 225/2 at the end of day 2 and trails India by only 133 runs.
