Rishabh Pant called to become India Captain after England Tests

Indian batting stalwart Rishabh Pant's daring innings in Manchester have earned him high praise from former Indian batter Hemang Badani, who lauded him as a future leader.

Rishabh Pant sustained a massive injury to his right foot during the first day of the Manchester Test. Pant, who has been a stunning batter, played several significant innings for India and had started off to a fluent innings at Manchester as well.

He attempted to reverse-sweep Chris Woakes from the front of the stumps, but he missed the ball, which went on to hit him in the front boot. Pant was deemed not out by a faint edge; however, the blow was enough to rule him out of the game.

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Rishabh Pant backed as a longtime leader by a Former Indian player

Former Indian player turned coach has praised Rishabh Pant for making it back to the field on Day 2 and the courage he has shown to face the English attack with a fractured foot.

"You need to commend him for his courage. The guy couldn't even stand yesterday (Day 1). A golf buggy had come in for him, and he was taken away in that. It's not easy to bat with a fractured foot. You can somehow manage with an injured hand, but the weight of your entire body is on your foot," the Delhi Capitals head coach said on Sony Sports.

The Delhi Capitals coach identified Pant as a true leader who stands by his team at tough junctures and saluted his spirit for the game.

"You have to bat and run with that foot. It was a moment of courage. He is telling the team that he is this team's leader, that he is not just a normal player, and is going to be a future leader."

"He is the vice-captain for the time being, but he wants to be a guy who can be trusted. He has shown his batting many times, but this is a moment for the future," added the former player.

ALSO READ: Shubman Gill's captaincy torn apart by recently retired India legend

Pant returning to bad 'was courageous,' says former Indian pacer

Another former Indian player, RP Singh, who was part of the discussion, hailed Pant's bravery and labeled him as a courageous batter.

"It was a courageous decision. The team needed him to bat because even if he batted on one leg, he would bat with the lower-order batters and build a partnership at least. Whenever he would have been playing shots, his foot would have been aching," he said.

The Indian team needed Pant to support the tailenders after Shardul Thakur got out.

Rishabh Pant now has the most 50+ scores by a wicket-keeper batsman in England

Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has been a class apart in the India vs England Test series. However, at the back of so many injuries, he has been ruled out of the last Test at the Oval.

Playing his last probable game with 6 weeks of rest advised, Rishabh scored his 5th 50+ total in the series with a fractured foot. He becomes the first-ever Indian keeper-batter to have reached this huge milestone in England.