Key Points

IANS understands that Pant travelling to Bengaluru and checking into the CoE later on Monday was decided at the very last moment. This agency has also reliably learnt that the cast on Pant’s right foot has now been removed, with the wicketkeeper-batter walking freely at the moment and showing no signs of limping.

After coming back home from the United Kingdom, Pant had been in consultation with medical experts, including Mumbai-based Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala about the progress on his fractured right foot. Dr Pardiwala, the Head of Centre for Sports Medicine and Director of Arthroscopy & Shoulder Service at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, had notably operated Pant’s right knee after the wicketkeeper-batter survived a life-threatening car accident in December 2022.

Pant, 27, sustained a foot fracture during day one of the Old Trafford Test after inside-edging a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes onto his foot. The painful injury forced him to retire hurt at 37, with scans later confirming the fracture on his fifth metatarsal. Remarkably, Pant returned to bat on the following day, despite arriving at the ground in a moonboot, and added crucial runs to make 54.

Substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel took over wicketkeeping duties in that match and though Pant was available to bat in India’s second innings, his services weren’t needed as Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar hit centuries to help India draw the game. For the fifth Test at The Oval, which India won by six runs to draw the series 2-2, N Jagadeesan was flown in as Pant’s replacement in the squad but he was replaced by Jurel.

IANS also understands that the CoE medical team is likely to conduct an assessment of Pant’s right foot on Tuesday. The outcome of that evaluation will determine the structure and intensity of his rehabilitation plan. The result of that assessment will also give an idea on Pant’s availability for the two Tests against the West Indies, to be held in Ahmedabad from October 2–6 and in New Delhi from October 10–14.

Pant, India’s vice-captain in Tests, amassed 479 runs in seven innings at a stunning average of 68.42, including hitting two sparkling centuries in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds. Should Pant fail to regain full fitness in time, Jurel and Jagadeesan can take up wicketkeeper-batter slots in the squad for Tests against the West Indies.

- IANS