"He is absolutely fine, he'll keep wickets tomorrow" - Gautam Gambhir issues update on Rishabh Pant ahead of 2nd IND vs NZ TestÂ
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed Rishabh Pant's availability as a wicketkeeper-batter in the upcoming second Test against New Zealand. Pant had sustained a blow to his knee while keeping wickets, and only featured as a batter in the latter half of the series opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Pant was struck on the same knee that he had surgery on following the infamous accident. A delivery from Ravindra Jadeja had evaded the bat, the batter's body, and the stumps to hit Pant flush on the region of the knee not protected by the pad.
The wicketkeeper had slumped down on the field and was seen wincing and hobbling when the medical staff attended to the injury. He ultimately walked off the field as the wicketkeeping duties were taken up by Dhruv Jurel. Pant featured with the bat in the second innings, scoring a splendid 99, before edging one onto the stumps off William O'Rourke's bowling.
"He is absolutely fine, he'll keep wickets tomorrow," Gautam Gambhir said of Pant during the pre-match press conference in Pune.
Coming into red-ball cricket after a prolonged absence, Pant began from where he left off. He scored a ton in his return Test against Bangladesh, and with a promising fifty against New Zealand, he is in good touch ahead of the crucial Border-Gavaskar series.
"We have 10-12 days and that's good enough rest" - Gautam Gambhir on workload management
Team India are midway through their red-ball season which features 10 Tests. Following the culmination of the ongoing three-match series against New Zealand on November 5, India are scheduled to tour Australia for a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The away series is scheduled to begin from November 22 onwards while the squad is expected to leave from India sometime in the second week of the next month. Before the series, India are also slated to play an intra-squad warm-up clash against India A.
"Once this series is over, we have 10-12 days and that's good enough rest. Of course we will evaluate after this game. Keeping the pacers fresh is important," Gambhir added in the press conference.
The second Test between India and New Zealand will begin at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday, October 24.