Rishabh Pant fought back for his team despite an injury to his knee, the same knee that got injured during the accident he suffered. Indian cricket fans were dreaming of bounce back against New Zealand as long as the partnership between Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant continued. Pant missed his tonne only by a run. But his injury remains a concern for Team India.
Pant got his knee injured again in the first innings of the India vs. New Zealand first test match; in a Ravindra Jadeja over, the ball went straight and hit Rishabh’s knee. He was in clear pain and left the ground with a limping leg. Druv Jurel replaced him as a wicketkeeper. After the match, team India captain Rohit Sharma was asked about the availability of Rishabh Pant in the second test match against New Zealand.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said in after match press conference, “He’s had a lot of minor surgeries and one big surgery on his knee and went through a lot of trauma, to be honest, in the last one and a half years. So it’s just about being extra careful, not just careful with him.”
“It’s just to be a little careful about where he is at and what he is to us. Even when he was batting, he was not comfortably running. He was trying to only put the ball in the stands”, Rohit said.
“When you’re keeping, you have to bend every ball with your knee going down and the wicket being what it was, we thought it is the right thing to do for him to stay inside and then get 100 percent ready for the next one.”
Druv Jurel made his Test debut in February 2024 against England. He impressed in his second Test at Ranchi, where he played a crucial knock of 90 runs in a challenging situation, helping India secure a series victory. His calmness under pressure and maturity have earned him high praise from former players like Harsha Bhogle and Tom Moody.