Despite suffering a fracture to his right foot the day before, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that he believed Rishabh Pant made the personal choice to bat on Day 2 of the fourth Test match against England. He denied that either captain Shubman Gill or head coach Gautam Gambhir had any influence over Pant’s decision to play in such a situation.
On Day 1, Pant hurt himself trying to reverse sweep a yorker-length delivery from Chris Woakes. He was in a lot of pain as the ball hit his foot. After then, he was removed from the pitch and sent to a hospital so they could scan him. According to medical sources, he should have rested for six weeks, which would have prevented him from playing.
But after Shardul Thakur was dismissed in the first session on Day 2, Pant went out to bat in spite of the advise and his physical discomfort. He continued by scoring a tough half-century, which enabled India to surpass 350 runs. Manjrekar said he first thought Pant might be the last batter, if at all, when he saw the video of him talking to Gambhir in the dressing room. He said that he was taken aback when Pant left the pitch right after Thakur was removed.
We believed there was a chance that Pant may enter at the end of the innings while he was there talking to Gautam Gambhir. His demeanour in the dressing room was particularly difficult to discern. Who would have guessed that he would be the next to bat when the next wicket fell? Ben Stokes bowled him a yorker as his first delivery, and he hasn’t looked the same as he did prior to the injury. During the tea break on Day 2, the former Indian batter on JioHotstar stated, “He was going for that front foot, ankle off stump.”
Cricket must operate in this manner. Now, however, we must think back to hitters of a particular ancestry and class who have limped onto the middle and accomplished some amazing feats in cricket. And because this is the one, don’t rule that out with him. It’s stated that one day you will only be able to swing with your bat and not be able to move your feet. He will still be able to dominate because of his amazing hand-eye coordination. Therefore, the fact that it was closed would worry England. Even though he was obviously in pain, you know, go back,” he continued.
Kumble in 2002 is reminiscent of Pant’s grit: Manjrekar
He also made a parallel between Anil Kumble and Pant’s brave deed. He remembered how, in the 2002 Antigua Test match against the West Indies, Kumble bowled wonderfully with a broken jaw. Kumble sustained the injury on Day 2 of the game while he was batting and was hit on the jaw by a bouncer from Mervyn Dillon. Despite suffering severe injuries, the leg-spinner managed to get rid of Brian Lara.
The reason for this is that it is irrelevant whether you made the contribution now or later. In my opinion, it will be shown in the second inning. “I’m out for the next Test, and I don’t know when I’m going to play for India next,” is what he’s thinking. Therefore, it would be wise to get out and accomplish something. And he must have liked his time before getting hurt because this was him choosing to go out there on his own. When you do things like this, like this with Anil Kumble with his jaw bandaged up, those are historical moments that you will remember in fifty years. “Manjrekar said.”
Pant hopes to make an impression during tests.
The former cricket player, who is now a commentator, insisted that the decision seemed to be entirely Pant’s own and that he did not see anyone in the Indian dressing room pressuring him to bat. Additionally, he thought the performance demonstrated Pant’s intense love for Test cricket.
“Gautam Gambhir and the captain could not possibly beg him or ask him if he would be going out there because that would benefit India.” It’s too much to ask, and as a result, I forgot about the finger damage. He has to think about it too. However, the former India cricketer stated, “He was very eager to play this test match and had the option of playing only as a batter because Jurel and KL Rahul are there as optional keeper.”
Look at the amount of attention you receive as a cricket player when you play Test cricket in England. This demonstrates how eager Pant is to represent India and something about, I suppose, Tests to get where it’s being played. He wants to, you know, give it his all here. Perhaps this explains why he hasn’t had the same impact in white ball cricket, since he wants to make a bigger impression on one format than the others,” Manjrekar said.
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