Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that it was Rishabh Pant’s personal decision to bat on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England, despite having fractured his right foot the day before. He rejected out the notion that head coach Gautam Gambhir or captain Shubman Gill encouraged Pant to play under such conditions.
Pant injured himself on Day 1 while attempting a reverse sweep against Chris Woakes’ yorker-length delivery. The ball impacted his foot, inflicting significant pain. He was then carried off the pitch and sent to a hospital for scans. Medical reports reportedly recommended a six-week recuperation period, thereby ruling him out of the contest.
Despite the advise and his physical discomfort, Pant returned to bat following Shardul Thakur’s dismissal during the first session of Day 2. He went on to score a gritty half-century, helping India reach 350 runs. Manjrekar stated that when film showed Pant in the dressing room conversing with Gambhir, he felt Pant would be the penultimate batter, if at all. He acknowledged to being astonished when Pant walked out immediately following Thakur’s dismissal.
“When Pant was there with Gautam Gambhir, talking, we believed there was a chance he’d come in at the end of the innings, and the way he carried himself in the changing room was difficult to read. Who would have guessed he’d be coming into bat as the next wicket fell? He has not looked like he did before the injury, and Ben Stokes’ first ball to him was a yorker. “He was going for that front foot, ankle off stump,” stated the ex-Indian batsman on JioHotstar during the tea break on Day 2.
“That’s how cricket ought to be. But now we have to think back to batsmen of a particular lineage and class who have staggered into the middle and done some incredible things in cricket. And don’t rule it out for this guy, since he is the one. You know, they say that one day you won’t be able to move your feet and can only bat with your bat. He has such good hand-eye coordination that he will still be able to dominate. So England would be concerned that it had been shut off. “Go back, you know, even though he was clearly in pain,” he said.
Pant’s grit reminds of Kumble in 2002: Sanjay Manjrekar
He also drew a comparison between Pant’s courageous act with Anil Kumble. He recalled how Kumble had famously bowled with a broken jaw during the 2002 Antigua Test against the West Indies. The injury had occurred on Day 2 of the match, when Kumble was struck on the jaw by a bouncer from Mervyn Dillon while batting. The leg-spinner took the wicket of Brian Lara despite being heavily injured.
“Because today, it doesn’t matter whether you made the contribution now or you will make it later. I think it’ll come out in the second innings. What he’s thinking is ‘I’m out for the next Test, and I don’t know when I’m going to play for India next. So, might as well go out there and get things done.’ And this has been him on his own deciding I’m going to go out there, and he must have enjoyed his time until the injury, and when you do things like this, gestures like this with Anil Kumble with the jaw strapped up, those are moments in history that you remember 50 years from now,” Manjrekar said.
Pant wants to leave a mark in Tests
The cricketer-turned-commentator stated that he saw no possibility of anyone in the Indian dressing room urging Pant to bat, and maintained that the decision appeared to be entirely Pant’s own. He also felt that the act reflected Pant’s deep passion for Test cricket.
“I can’t imagine Gautam Gambhir or the captain pleading with him or sussing him out whether he would be going out there because that would help India. Because it’s too much to ask, and I forgot about the finger injury because of this. He’s got that as well to worry about. But he was very keen to play this test match, and he had the option of playing only as a batter because Jurel is there as an optional keeper, and KL Rahul is as well,” the former India cricketer added.
“So this shows how keen Pant is to turn up for India, and something about, I guess, Tests to get where it’s being played, look at the amount of attention that you get as a cricketer when you play Test cricket in England. So this is where he wants to, you know, give his best. If you wonder why he hasn’t quite made the same impact in white ball cricket, maybe this is the reason why, because he wants to leave a mark on this format more than the others,” Manjrekar concluded.
India
