India’s Wicket-Keeper Pant Faces Uncertain Return, Likely to Miss West Indies Tests

Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant is working hard to get fit in time and finish his recovery so he can be considered for the team for the West Indies Test series starting on October 2. The Indian team has been very strong in all formats of the game in recent years and has done extremely well in ICC tournaments. But one worry for the BCCI, head coaches and selectors is that some players often get injured.

Two Indian players who are often linked with injury worries are fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant. Both are very important for the Men in Blue, but injuries have made them miss big matches sometimes. Pant was last seen playing in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England. He was a strong presence in India’s middle order playing 7 innings across 4 matches and scoring 479 runs at an average of 68.43.

In the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Pant was hit hard on his right foot while trying a bold reverse sweep against Chris Woakes. He had to be carried off the field and was later diagnosed with a fracture in his right foot. Since then, he has been working hard on his recovery to make a comeback for India. His drive to get fit has grown stronger with the home Test series against the West Indies coming up. Team selections are expected to be announced before the Asia Cup ends.

Rishabh Pant has taken off his plaster and has been working on his recovery since then, but he hasn’t received any clear updates from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. Even after consulting several specialists in Mumbai, it looks tough for him to be fully fit before October.

“He is targeting a return for the series against the West Indies, but that seems unlikely. Even though he’s trying his best, the chances of his return for the West Indies series are 50:50. The more realistic possibility is that he will return to action with the white-ball series against Australia, which will kick off with the first ODI on Oct 19 in Perth. Pant’s injured foot is still strapped. It will take two weeks before he starts batting in the nets,” a trusted source told TOI.

After the injury, Rishabh Pant was helped off the field but still came out to bat for India with a fractured foot. He managed to score a half-century and was praised for his courage, but playing on the injury may have made it worse.

“Normally, these fractures take six weeks to heal and another two weeks to get back to full fitness. If you haven’t been able to rest it properly and had to keep playing, the recovery will take longer,” a source told TOI.

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