‘Batting with a broken foot’: Gautam Gambhir backs injury substitutes after Rishabh Pant’s heroics; Ben Stokes calls debate ‘ridiculous’ | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been dominated out of the fifth and closing Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as a consequence of a foot fracture — an injury he astonishingly batted by means of through the fourth Test in Manchester.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Pant, who retired damage on Day 1 after being struck on the foot whereas making an attempt a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes, was seen being carted off the sector in seen ache. However, in a outstanding show of grit, he returned to bat on Day 2 and scored a half-century whereas limping, incomes widespread admiration.

“It’s been declared that he’s out of the series,” Gambhir mentioned after the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford. “But one thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on something Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well.”

“Any amount of praise is not enough for him — especially batting with a broken foot. I think the generations to come will talk about it and the generations coming forward should talk about it.”Pant’s injury reopened the debate round substitution guidelines in Test cricket. Though Pant was changed behind the stumps by Dhruv Jurel, there was no provision for a full injury alternative — a rule Gambhir feels needs to be carried out.“Absolutely, I’m all for it,” he mentioned. “If the umpires and match referee feel there’s a major injury, it’s important to have a rule that allows for a substitute. Especially in a series like this. Imagine if we had to play with just 10 players against 11 — how unfortunate would that be?”

England captain Ben Stokes, nevertheless, was agency in opposition. “I think it is absolutely ridiculous that there is a conversation around injury replacements,” he mentioned. “You pick your 11 for the game, injuries are part of it. That conversation should be shut down.”Pant was not required to bat in India’s second innings as centuries from Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar ensured a draw. However, his braveness whereas injured has grow to be one of many defining moments of the sequence.With England main 2-1, the ultimate Test at The Oval begins Thursday.