India’s Test team vice-captain Rishabh Pant was struck on the left hand, just below the elbow, while batting during a practice session in Beckenham ahead of the start of the five-match Test series at Headingley, Leeds.
India began preparations with a high-intensity training session. Pant was batting in the nets when he was hit on his left hand. He appeared to be in visible discomfort immediately, prompting the medical team to rush in. After a thorough examination, an ice pack was applied to his arm, and shortly afterwards, his left hand was heavily taped. The wicketkeeper-batter then remained on the sidelines, observing his teammates go about their net session.
Before the incident, Pant had spent a considerable amount of time in the nets. The southpaw began his session facing throwdown specialists before facing deliveries from his teammates.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir was present at the session and was seen having a brief discussion with Pant. He also kept a close eye on Shubman Gill’s batting.
The pace quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh, along with new captain Shubman Gill, Pant, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, trained alongside spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.
There will be added pressure on Pant, as this marks his first tour as a member of India’s leadership group. As a batter, he has performed well against the Dukes ball, scoring 511 runs from eight Tests at an average of 34.06, including two centuries and two half-centuries. With an inexperienced batting group of India without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the onus will be on Pant to do the bulk of the scoring for his team.
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