New Delhi: Team India captain Rohit Sharma provided a key update on Rishabh Pant’s knee injury after the hosts suffered an 8-wicket defeat in the 1st Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 20. Kiwis thrashed India by 8 wickets in the series opener to bag their first Test victory on Indian soil in 36 years and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Pant injured his knee while keeping wickets during Day 2 of the Test match and was taken off the field. He didn’t keep wickets on Day 3 entirely but came out to bat for India in their second innings. Pant was once again replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps during New Zealand’s second innings on Day 4 and Day 5 of the Test match.
Pant played a brilliant knock of 99 runs in India’s second innings to lead the hosts’ fightback after a spectacular collapse saw them get bundled out for a paltry 46 runs in their first innings. Pant combined with Sarfaraz Khan, who slammed his maiden Test ton in the game, to help India post 462 on the board in their second innings.
While Pant missed out on a well-deserved ton, Sarfaraz went on to slam 150 laced with 18 fours and 3 sixes. The duo were involved in a 177-run stand for the 4th wicket which ignited hopes of an unlikely win for India on Day 4 before the hosts suffered another batting collapse against the second new ball to lose the plot.
Speaking about Pant’s unavailability on the field as a wicket-keeper, Rohit said the team management didn’t want to take any chances. The Indian skipper highlighted how Pant has already endured a lot of trauma having gone through multiple surgeries after his car accident in December 2022 and his workload needs to be managed carefully.
“He has had a massive operation on his knee. We need to be a little careful about you know, where he’s at and what he is to us. Even when he was batting, he was not comfortably running. You know, he was trying to only put the ball in the stands but again with someone like him, we just need to be extra careful, because he’s had a lot of minor surgeries, and one big surgery on his knee,” Rohit said on Pant’s injury.
Rohit hopeful of Pant playing 2nd Test
Rohit stressed the decision to not let Pant keep the wickets during the Test match was taken by the Indian team management to ensure he gets enough rest to recover fully before the 2nd Test in Pune next week. The wicket-keeper batter did struggle with his running but looked alright and is expected to feature in the 2nd Test against the Kiwis.
“Rishabh Pant has gone through a lot of trauma, to be honest in the last 1.5 years. So it’s just about being extra careful with him. So, you know, when you’re keeping, you have to bend every ball with your knee going down, and the wicket being what it was, we thought it was the right thing to do for him to stay inside and then get 100% ready for the next one,” Rohit added.
