Rishabh Pant didn’t take the field at the onset on Day 3 of the first India vs New Zealand Test in Bengaluru on Friday (October 18) with a knee injury keeping him indoors. Dhruv Jurel continued to occupy the gloves as India looked to curtail the visiting Kiwis who began the day from 180/3, a lead of 134 runs. India had been bowled out for 46, their lowest Test total at home, in the second session.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a brief update before play began, “Mr Rishabh Pant will not keep wickets on Day 3.The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress.”
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A forgetful day for India was made worse by the injury to influential wicketkeeper-batter Pant. Pant was struck flush on the knee while keeping in the evening session and was subsequently taken off the field.
India captain Rohit Sharma later clarified that he’s had some swelling and the reason for leaving the field was largely precautionary and they were hoping he’d recover overnight – alas that didn’t prove to be the case.
“Unfortunately, the knee. The ball went and hit straight on his knee cap, the leg which he had surgery on. So, he has got a little bit of swelling on it. The muscles are bit tender at this point of time. It’s a precautionary measure,” Rohit said after Day 2 in the post-match press conference.
“We don’t want to take any risks. Rishabh did not want to take a risk. He has gone through a massive surgery on that particular leg. That was the reason for him to go inside. Hopefully, tonight he can recover and we will see him back on the field tomorrow,” he added.
Worryingly for Pant and India, he was struck on the same (right) knee that he had a surgery on following his car crash.
