I Was Surprised At Rishabh Pant Playing Through So Much Pain: Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has reckoned that the injury that Rishabh Pant suffered during his knock in India’s first innings in Sydney changed his rhythm substantially and it played a huge role in him playing the kind of shot that eventually led to his demise.

Pant had come in to bat with India desperately needing someone to give some impetus to their innings following the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari in the opening hour of the morning session. And, the southpaw did exactly that as he played some enterprising strokes during the 53-run-stand with Cheteshwar Pujara.

But just as it looked like Pant was in for another big knock at the SCG, he coped a nasty blow on his elbow during an attempt to pull Pat Cummins. Pant looked in a lot of pain and it can be gauged by the fact that he took a considerable amount of time to restart innings. And, he never looked comfortable after that as he went for a booming drive off Josh Hazlewood, only to give an easy catch in the cordon.

Pant’s wicket triggered a typical Indian collapse as the visitors lost their last six wickets for a mere 49 runs to get bowled out for 244.

“He was batting well. He was looking calm till the time he was hit on the elbow. The ball that hit me kicked up a little as it was the new ball. It felt for the first time that he wanted to pull even though he was on the front foot. His batting rhythm changed slightly after he was hit. Before that, it was not looking like he will play the sort of shot he got out to,” Ajit Agarkar during the post-day show on Sony Sports.

Agarkar also added that given the kind of pain Rishabh Pant was in, he should have walked back to the pavilion in order to get some treatment and come back later.

“I couldn’t understand if he had that much pain, he could have gone in and come back later because Jadeja who is in good form could have come and played and probably India might have benefited because of that. So, I was surprised that he continued playing despite being in so much pain,” added Agarkar.

Meanwhile, Pant was immediately taken to the hospital for scans. The scans have shown no considerable damage and the southpaw will be available to bat if needed in India’s second innings.

Breaking in what should come as some relief for India @RishabhPant17 s scans show no major damage. He is in pain but should be able to bat on day 5. He is being treated for the injury. Watch 5@5 @SportsTodayofc for more.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) January 9, 2021

Also Read: Cheteshwar Pujara Reveals The Moment When Team India’s Innings Got Derailed In The Sydney Test