Pant had his first prolonged appearance in red-ball cricket during the India A series after he recovered from a foot injury he had suffered during the July fourth Test match against England. Pant, who missed the next West Indies Tests, made a comeback by scoring 90 runs in the inaugural unofficial Test, helping India A win at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. The selectors were persuaded by his leadership and batting performance that he was ready, and he was named vice-captain of India for the forthcoming two-Test series against South Africa, which begins in Kolkata on November 14.
After absorbing several hits while batting, he retired injured on day three of the second unofficial Test match against South Africa A in Bengaluru. After taking three blows—one to the head, one to his left elbow, and one to his abdomen—the India A captain, who has been leading the squad since his comeback to competitive cricket, departed the field in pain.
Pant appeared to be playing well in India’s second innings on Day 3 prior to his untimely injury.
Racing to 17 off 22 balls, he showed off his signature flare by flicking one delivery for six and pulling another for four. He was forced to withdraw injured at 108/4, though, after taking a string of hits. Despite obvious pain, the southpaw kept batting until the last hit close to his elbow forced him to seek medical assistance and eventually retire.
Kuldeep Yadav and Harsh Dubey were at the crease when India A increased their advantage to 150 runs at the time of his departure.
Take a look at this video:
Rishabh Pant retried out after getting hit thrice 💔 https://t.co/Sv6wNfREUo
— Ankur (@cricwithpant2) November 8, 2025
Dhruv Jurel’s outstanding 132* helped India A reach 255 in their opening innings earlier in the match. Pant contributed by smashing three fours and a six in his 24 off 20 balls. In response, captain Marques Ackerman scored 134 off 118 balls as South Africa A was knocked out for 221. India A had a little lead in the first innings thanks to a share of wickets from Mohammed Siraj (2/61), Prasidh Krishna (3/35), and Akash Deep (2/28).
With the early dismissals of Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran for ducks, India A’s second innings got off to a bad start. Both Devdutt Padikkal, 24, and KL Rahul, 27, attempted to steady the situation before losing to Okuhle Cele, a pacer from South Africa.
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