England seamer Chris Woakes has spoken about the delivery that struck Rishabh Pant’s toe — an injury that ruled the wicketkeeper-batter out of the ongoing Test series after he sustained a fracture on the opening day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.“He’s quite unpredictable,” Woakes said on Sky Sports.“He doesn’t give you many cues, but sometimes you get a gut feeling that he’s about to do something. He’d played five or six deliveries normally, so I had a feeling…“I didn’t think it would be a reverse sweep! I thought he might run at me, so I tried to bowl a slower ball; it came out full and hit him on the foot. It wasn’t intended to be a yorker, but the plan was to take the pace off.”
Pant retired hurt on 37 and went for scans after taking a blow to his right foot while attempting a reverse sweep off Woakes.Blood was seen seeping from Pant’s right foot, which showed considerable swelling.He did not return to the ground with the team on Thursday.Initial scans have revealed a mild compound fracture in Pant’s right foot — likely the cause of the bleeding and swelling that forced him to retire hurt on Wednesday.
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Pant’s participation in the ongoing Test appears extremely unlikely, and his availability will depend on how quickly the swelling subsides. However, early indications suggest the pain has persisted despite immediate first aid, raising serious doubts about any further involvement in the match.With no official update yet from the BCCI, team sources have indicated that the management is already exploring replacement options. Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan — who toured with the A team and also played county matches — is the frontrunner to be drafted into the squad.The setback adds to India’s growing concerns, as Pant had also suffered a finger injury during the third Test at Lord’s, which forced him to hand over the keeping duties to Dhruv Jurel.
