ENG vs IND: Can Dhruv Jurel bat for India if Rishabh Pant gets ruled out of the ongoing Manchester test? Explained

Rishabh Pant had to retire hurt on day one after injuring his right foot.

Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant had to be carried off the field on a medical cart after he suffered a serious injury to his foot on day one of the ongoing fourth test against England. This match began on July 23, 2025, and is being played at Old Trafford in Manchester. England won the toss and chose to bowl first.

England made a solitary change, drafting in Liam Dawson in place of the injured Shoaib Bashir. India, on the other hand, made three alterations to their playing XI: Sai Sudharsan came in for Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur replaced injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Anshul Kamboj was brought in for Akash Deep.

Before Pant was injured, India were gaining momentum thanks to a consistent partnership between him and Sai Sudharsan. The duo scored an unbroken 72 runs for the fourth wicket, with Pant scoring 37 runs, including two boundaries and a six.

Earlier, openers KL Rahul (46) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) gave India a strong start with a 94-run partnership. After Rahul departed, Jaiswal and Sudharsan added 26 runs before Dawson dismissed Jaiswal. Ben Stokes dismissed Shubman Gill for 12, bringing Pant to the crease.

Rishabh Pant suffers a foot injury trying to play a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes

Before disaster struck, Pant looked to be in fine form, scoring 37 runs, including two boundaries and a six.

During the final session of the day, Pant tried a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes and got slapped on the boot. India lost, but England made a strong case for LBW, which the umpire rejected. Pant was obviously in a lot of pain, and the Indian medical and physio teams needed to help him right away.

Examining Pant’s right toe revealed significant edema. He was unable to continue and had to retire wounded, squirming with every contact. Eventually, a medical buggy took him off the field so he could receive further care.

Can Dhruv Jurel bat in place of Rishabh Pant if he’s unable to continue in the match?

This is the second injury Rishabh Pant has suffered in this series. Previously, he had hurt his finger during the Lord’s test and had to give up keeping duties to Dhruv Jurel, who did so in the second part of the first innings and the entire second innings.

India might use Jurel, who took wickets at the Lord’s as Pant recovered from a finger injury, if Pant is unable to maintain. India will be permitted to use a substitute wicket-keeper for their vice-captain in Manchester due to the recent injury.

Pant can be replaced behind the stumps in this test by Jurel. However, if Pant is unable to bat for the rest of the test, no other batsman can take his place. As a result, India will only have nine wickets to play with rather than the customary ten.

Last month, the ICC introduced rules allowing for the substitution of a like-for-like player for an injured player. However, it hasn’t been used in international cricket yet; it’s only been used in domestic cricket.

Hence, Dhruv Jurel will not be allowed to bat in place of Rishabh Pant in case the India vice-captain doesn’t return to the field with the willow.

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