India captain Shubman Gill said the finger injury suffered by Rishabh Pant in the third test against England is not overly serious and the wicketkeeper-batsman should be able to play in the next match in Manchester.
Pant injured the index finger of his left hand when trying to collect a delivery from Bumrah during England’s first innings at Lord’s.
Pant completed the over but did not keep wickets afterwards, though he batted in both innings. Dhruv Jurel replaced him behind the stumps for the remainder of the test, which England won by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
“Rishabh went for scans and there is no major injury there,” Gill told reporters.
“I think he should be fine for the next test match.”
Pant is the second-highest scorer in the series with his tally of 425 from six innings, which includes two hundreds, second only to Gill’s 607.
Tempers flared throughout the contest at the home of cricket and India seamer Mohammed Siraj was slapped with a fine and one demerit point for his reaction after taking the wicket of England opener Ben Duckett.
Gill said the “heat” had spiced up the series but the teams respected each other.
“You’re giving everything physically and mentally, so there are going to moments where there’s going to be a little bit of heat from both sides,” the 25-year-old said.
“I think that’s what makes it so exciting, that’s what makes it more challenging.
“But the next time we play each other, there won’t be (any bad blood). There’s a lot of admiration within for the two teams.”
The fourth test at Old Trafford begins on July 23.
(Reuters)
