Sharmistha Gooptu in Manchester
When Rishabh Pant sustained a bad foot injury on Wednesday, which now has been confirmed as a fracture, putting him out of the game, the Indian media erupted here in Manchester – not only in their bid to get updates on the exact nature of his injury but also letting loose a canon of speculation. And that’s all the more because the man in question is Pant.
I can recall a senior journalist repeatedly saying, “We never know, he has an incredibly high pain threshold.” That is also something that has been stated by his doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala, who treated him after his near fatal accident in 2022. Hence, since yesterday, when we first saw Pant being taken out of the ground in a cabbie ambulance until this morning, the discussion among media colleagues veered not only between the possibilities – was it a fracture or not a fracture, and if it was not a fracture and still quite bad, would Pant play?
Pant is a maverick. I have seen colleagues howl at some of the shots he attempts or plays, or when he gets out – “totally unnecessary”, or “one daft shot every few overs” – are common outbursts, along with raptures at his brilliance from the same people. Accordingly, when it’s him that suffered an injury people still imagine miracles might happen until the last moment. His return to playing the game after the terrifying accident was itself a miracle – of medical science, and a testimony to the man’s spirit.
Viewing the team from the media centre each morning, a few things now seem evident. Pant is outgoing, sociable and like a glue in the bonding of this team. He likes to share a joke with his teammates. He, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep and some of the others are to be seen fooling and pranking around, and making light of the obvious pressure around the game during the morning warm-up. He has been seen on more than one occasion walking upto Shubman Gill, putting an arm around him and starting a conversation.
As I write this, the team is still warming up before the match. A few jokes might have passed – the birdie couldn’t tell it all. I’m trying to look out for Siraj, the regular mischief man at this hour. Jasprit Bumrah is his usual amiable self. But is there less of the boy’s bonding and pranking about today?
Or is the birdie simply imagining it?
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