ENG vs IND: Rishabh Pant ruled out of the Oval test, announces India coach Gautam Gambhir

Rishabh Pant suffered a foot injury in the Manchester test.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that Rishabh Pant will not be part of fifth test of the ongoing five-match series against England. The final test between the teams be played at The Oval, London, scheduled to commence on July 31.

Pant suffered a foot injury in the first innings of the Manchester test as he attempted to play a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes. He was wincing in pain and got retired hurt after that. Later, he resumed his batting the next day and also scored a gritty half-century in the first innings.

The Indian wicket-keeper has shown a wonderful form in the series. With 479 runs in seven innings at an average of 68.43, he is the third-highest run-scorer in the series. The left-handed batsman has smacked three fifties and two centuries across four games.

Rishabh Pant is out of the series: Gautam Gambhir

During the post-match press conference after the Manchester test, Gambhir revealed that Pant is out of the series and will not be part of the fifth test at The Oval.

“Rishabh Pant is out of the series. Any amount of praise is not enough for him, to bat with a broken foot. Generations should talk about it. It’s unfortunate,” he said.

Pant’s absence will be a big blow to India’s batting as he showed consistent form in the first four games. After he got injured in the Manchester test, Dhruv Jurel kept the wickets for India. Notably, Pant also suffered a finger injury in the third test at the Lord’s, but recovered in time ahead of the fourth test.

Meanwhile, the fourth test ended in a draw as India came up with a brilliant fightback with the bat in the second innings. England had taken a lead of 311 runs after the end of the first innings. Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar hammered centuries in the second innings to power the scoreboard to 425/4 at the end of day five.

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