Rishabh Pant To Check Into BCCI CoE To Start Rehabilitation For Fractured Right Foot: Report | Cricket News

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is expected to check into the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on Monday to start rehabilitation for his fractured right foot, an injury sustained during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.

As per a report in IANS, Pant’s travel to Bengaluru and his check-in at the CoE on Monday was a last-minute decision. Additionally, the agency reports that the cast on Pant’s right foot has been removed, and he is now walking freely with no signs of limping.

How Rishabh Pant Is Making A Comeback?

After returning from the United Kingdom, Pant consulted medical experts, including Mumbai-based Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, regarding the progress of 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 previously operated on Pant’s right knee following a life-threatening car accident in December 2022.

Pant, 27, sustained the foot fracture on 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 a fracture on his fifth metatarsal. Remarkably, Pant returned to bat 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. Although 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 was replaced by Jurel.

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

Pant, India’s vice-captain in Tests, scored 479 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 68.42, including two centuries in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds. If Pant fails to regain full fitness in time, Jurel and Jagadeesan can take up the wicketkeeper-batter slots in the squad for Tests against the West Indies.

(With inputs from IANS)