Shardul Thakur praised Rishabh Pant’s bravery and pain tolerance on Thursday. Pant batted with a broken foot on day two of the fourth Test against England.
Speaking to the media, Shardul confirmed Pant suffered a fracture on day one. We wanted to get Pant back out there. The medical team worked a lot, so credit to them, Shardul said, adding Pant’s fifty helped India reach 358 in their first innings. They got Rishabh back on the field and he batted for a bit. What he did was important for the team and he scored big runs.
Yes, he was in pain. We’ve seen him do amazing things before and this was another one, Shardul said.
Shardul and his teammates were keen to see how Pant would approach his innings. He resumed at 37 after retiring hurt on Wednesday when he was hit on his right foot trying a reverse sweep off England’s Chris Woakes.
Everyone was excited to see how he would bat. What he showed today, his team spirit is unmatched. We’ve seen players bat with fractures before.
Graeme Smith once batted with a fractured hand for South Africa. In these moments a player’s toughness comes out.
Rishabh’s positive attitude and grit helps him ignore the pain. He can handle a lot of pain. If he is showing pain it’s a serious injury, Thakur said.
Read Also:- Rishabh Pant Injury News: Is He Playing the Next Test Match Against England?
About Pant batting in the second innings, Thakur said: That’s up to him and the medical team. We thought he might be able to bat this morning. I had to touch his feet and see if he could walk properly. If he can walk properly then we can talk about batting.
When we reached the ground and were warming up he wasn’t there. Then I went to bat. I don’t know what happened after that. I think there is a fracture, Thakur confirmed.
England’s Zak Crawley was also surprised to see Pant.
Not many people can do what Pant did today, said Crawley, who shared a 166-run opening stand with Ben Duckett.
England ended the day at 225 for 2 with Ollie Pope and Joe Root at the crease.
