Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant, who is a wicket-keeper and batsman, had to leave the field during the second day of the first Test match against New Zealand in Bengaluru because of a knee injury. Pant’s injury led to substitute wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel taking his place behind the stumps for India before the end of Day 2. On Day 3, Jurel continued to fill in for Pant, who was still being monitored by the BCCI’s medical team. The Indian cricket board announced on Friday morning that Pant would not be able to play for the entire day.
UPDATE: Mr Rishabh Pant will not keep wickets on Day 3. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” BCCI wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Pant got hit on his right knee during the 37th over of New Zealand’s innings. A ball from Ravindra Jadeja spun sharply and hit his knee while Devon Conway was batting.
The wicketkeeper-batter had to leave the field. After the game, captain Rohit Sharma said there was some swelling and the team didn’t want to take any risks.
Dhruv Jurel replaced Pant for the rest of the game.
Pant had already had several surgeries on his right knee after a bad car accident in December 2022.
“Sadly, the ball directly hit his kneecap, the same leg he had surgery on. This caused some swelling and the muscles are quite sore right now,” Rohit said to the media on Thursday.
“This is just a safety step. We don’t want to take any chances. Rishabh doesn’t want to take any risks because he had a big surgery on that leg,” he explained.
“That’s why he went off the field. Hopefully, he’ll feel better tonight and we’ll see him back playing tomorrow,” Rohit added.
