Rishabh Pant Foot Fracture Rules Him Out of Oval Test; Jagadeesan Named Replacement

Rishabh Pant will be sidelined for the crucial fifth Test against England at The Oval due to a foot fracture sustained during the Manchester match. The Indian team management has confirmed that N Jagadeesan, a wicketkeeper-batter from Tamil Nadu, will join the squad as his replacement.

Pant sustained a foot fracture on Day 2 in Manchester while batting. © Getty

The injury occurred on Day 2 while Pant was batting. He was struck on the foot while attempting a scoop shot off a delivery from Chris Woakes. Pant was immediately taken off the field, and subsequent scans revealed the fracture. He is expected to remain out of action for a minimum of six weeks.

In a display of resilience, Pant returned to the crease the following day and remarkably scored a half-century before being dismissed. However, he did not bat in India's second innings, as KL Rahul and the middle-order fought valiantly to secure a draw.

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir praised Pant's unwavering commitment after the draw in Manchester. "The character and the foundation of this team will be built on what Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well. Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot. Not many people have done that in the past. And he had put his hand up," Gambhir stated.

Gambhir further added, "It's unfortunate because of the kind of form he was in. But again, he's an important member of the Test side. And I hope he recovers quickly and comes back quickly."

Prior to the fourth Test, the Indian team also faced injury concerns with Akash Deep (groin injury), Arshdeep Singh (finger injury), and Nitish Reddy (knee injury). While Nitish Reddy was ruled out of the series, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh have recovered and are available for selection for the series decider in London.

India's squad for the fifth Test: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK).