As India prepares to face England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, the spotlight is on injuries and key team changes. One of the central points of discussion is Rishabh Pant’s fitness and his potential return as India’s wicketkeeper. Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar weighed in on the matter, highlighting Pant’s role in ensuring team balance and structure.
Pant’s Return Behind the Stumps a Game-Changer
Pant had injured his left index finger during the Lord’s Test and did not keep wickets for most of the match. Despite the setback, he participated in both innings with the bat and has been seen training ahead of the fourth Test.
On Tuesday, India captain Shubman Gill confirmed that Pant is fit and will resume wicketkeeping duties at Old Trafford. This update comes as a huge relief to the Indian camp.
“𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎’𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆,” 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔.
“𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑿𝑰. 𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
Bangar also acknowledged KL Rahul as a dependable backup option, should Pant experience any further discomfort.
Kuldeep Yadav’s Absence Questioned Amid Selection Woes
India’s injury list continues to grow, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy ruled out and Arshdeep Singh also sidelined due to a hand injury. Akash Deep is set to miss the match owing to a groin niggle, with Anshul Kamboj likely to make his Test debut in Manchester. Fortunately, Jasprit Bumrah is fit, and will likely lead the bowling alongside Mohammed Siraj. The third pacer’s role remains up for grabs between Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj.
Meanwhile, Bangar expressed disappointment over Kuldeep Yadav’s continued exclusion from the playing XI.
“𝑰𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑲𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒀𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒗 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒓.
“𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒚, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅’𝒔. 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚.”
Bangar added that bringing in Kuldeep at No. 7 could weaken India’s batting depth, and therefore, he expects the management to stick with Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur in the lineup.
As India aims to level the series, Rishabh Pant’s readiness to take the gloves again could be a decisive factor in their balance and performance.
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