The fourth Test between India and England is underway at Manchester's iconic Old Trafford Cricket Stadium. The visitors who were put into bat first scored 264/4 at stumps on Day 1.
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But the Indian side faced a major injury blow as Rishabh Pant was retired hurt during the match. He was hit on the toe off Chris Woakes' bowling and had to be carried off the field on a golf cart.
Leading into the game, Team India was already sweating over injury concerns as Nitish Reddy was ruled out of the series with a ligament tear, while pacers Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep are recovering from injuries.
The Indian vice-captain and wicket-keeper is the latest to the casualty ward.
Will Rishabh play fourth and fifth Tests of IND vs ENG series?
Pant was batting well and looked in good touch on Day 1 at Manchester. The batter had already scored 37, shifting the momentum towards.
He was a part of a crucial 71-run partnership with Sai Sudharsan. That was until he attempted a reverse sweep and got hit by a ball from Woakes on his toe.
MORE: Ravi Shastri worried Rishabh Pant injury could rule him out of IND vs ENG 2025 Test series
The incident occurred during the 68th over of India’s first innings. Pant, while trying to reverse sweep a ball from Chris Woakes, got hit right on the toe and was seen in a lot of pain and agony.
The batter immediately received medical attention and was forced to retire hurt. He was taken to the medical room and was off for scans later in the day.
According to Devendra Pandey of the Indian Express, Pant has reportedly been advised to rest for six weeks with a fractured toe and will miss the remainder of the series.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) July 24, 2025
Rishabh Pant advised six weeks rest because of fractured toe, reports @pdevendra #INDvENG #CricketTwitter https://t.co/XTLWlVcSyd
On Day 2, Pant came out to bat after Shardul Thakur's dismissal, although he was visibly in pain as he was spotted limping on the ground.
Is Ishan Kishan a possible replacement for Rishabh Pant? N Jagadeesan in fray
With Pant possibly out of the series, the Indian side will now be looking for a possible replacement. Dhruv Jurel is already a backup wicket-keeper in the squad.
Ishan Kishan, the explosive left-hander from Jharkhand, is also being considered as Pant's replacement in the squad. Kishan, who was recently playing county cricket, can be a like-for-like replacement for Pant, given his stroke-making abilities and as a left-handed bat.
In his two games at the English County cricket with Nottinghamshire, Kishan finished with 164 runs in two innings, including two brilliant half-centuries, while in his short Test career, Kishan has played two games and scored 78 runs for India.
However, a fresh report from journalist Devendra Pandey suggests that Kishan is currently injured after he fell a few days ago. He has stitches on his legs, which virtually rule him out as a possible Pant replacement.
Cricbuzz now reports that Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper N Jagadeesan is a strong contender to replace Rishabh Pant for the remainder of the series.