Rishabh Pant wore the batting gloves an hour before the start of play on Day 2 of the third Test between England and India at Lord’s. The India wicketkeeper-batter had injured his index finger on the opening day of the Test with the series sitting at 1-1. It was later confirmed by the BCCI that he will not be donning the wicketkeeping gloves just yet.Before the start of play on the second day, Pant took the batting gloves and faced a few deliveries from the batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. However, concerningly for the Indian team, he looked at his left hand multiple times, shook it and didn’t feel comfortable.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Based on Pant’s discomfort, it appears Dhruv Jurel will continue to take the wicketkeeping gloves for India, which was later confirmed, as England resume from 251/4 with Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the middle.In the social media post, BCCI said, “Rishabh Pant is still recovering from the hit on his left index finger. The BCCI medical team continues to monitor his progress. Dhruv Jurel will continue to keep wickets on Day 2.”
Dhruv Jurel update by BCCI on X (Image via Screengrab)
As Pant worked on his batting drills, Jurel continued to focus on the wicketkeeping part of the job.On Day 1, BCCI had posted on their X account, “India vice-captain Rishabh Pant got hit on his left index finger. He is receiving treatment at the moment and under the supervision of the medical team. Dhruv Jurel is currently keeping wickets in Rishabh’s absence.”
The incident happened during the second session when in the 34th over, Pant copped a blow to the fingertips on his left hand while attempting to stop a Jasprit Bumrah delivery that was fired down legside against Ollie Pope.Pant, who had dived to stop the ball, grimaced in pain while receiving treatment from the physio and even when he got his fingers heavily taped up. Pant tried to stay on on for the rest of the over, he walked off for further treatment once it was done.Later, Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir and Kotak also had a look at Pant’s injury. During the ongoing five-match tour, Pant has scored 342 runs in two matches at an average of 85.50, including slamming two hundreds in the series opener at Headingley.
