Follow UsRishabh Pant suffered an unfortunate injury on Day 1 of the ongoing Manchester Test between India and England. The wicketkeeper-batter was struck on the leg by a Chris Woakes delivery while he attempted to play the reverse sweep.
There was a huge swelling on Pant's leg after which he was escorted off the field. His participation in the rest of the test as a wicketkeeper and a batter remains in Jeopardy. With four days left in the match, former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes India should be allowed a substitute given that the injury occurred on the first day of the match.
“I don’t like the fact that we’ve got four days left in the game, four days of action in what has been an incredible series where we are going to have 10 versus 11,” Vaughan said to BBC Sports.
“I prefer that you’d have a sub. You know, once they brought in concussion subs, I was crying out, saying, ‘Well, just have substitutions then in the first innings of a game.’ That would be my stepping point. If it happens in the second innings, I feel that team might kind of break the rules or indulge in a bit of skullduggery.
"But if it’s clear and obvious when someone breaks a hand or a foot or ruptures a calf, it’s so evident that someone is in real pain and can’t carry on. I think it’s very clear to me: you should be allowed a sub."
According to the current rules, a substitute player will not be allowed to bat, but can take his place as a fielder or a wicketkeeper. Even in the previous Test at Lord's, Dhruv Jurel kept wickets as Pant was nursing a finger injury. Pant, however, batted in both innings.
Pant was batting on 37 when the incident happened and looked set to get another big score on the board. He already has a couple of hundreds and as many fifties in seven innings in the series so far.