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India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant suffered an unexpected setback during the Irani Cup 2026 clash, as the Rest of India captain missed Day 4 against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar due to fever on Sunday, October 4.
Pant did not take the field when the rest of India came out to defend the target in the final innings. His illness also affected his batting during the Irani Cup 2026 match in Srinagar. Amid this, Harshit Rana suffers fresh setback! Viral illness delays return after quadriceps injury.
Rishabh Pant misses Day 4 of Irani Cup 2026 due to fever
As reported by Cricbuzz and Sportstar, Rishabh Pant didn’t take the field on Day 4 of the Irani Cup 2026 between the Rest of India and Jammu and Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar. It is being said that Pant was down with fever, and that’s why he couldn’t return to the field.
With Pant unavailable, the vice-captain Sarfaraz Khan took over the captaincy and led the Rest of India side on the field against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup. Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal stepped in to keep wickets in Pant’s absence.
His illness also impacted his batting in the match against Jammu and Kashmir. After scoring 10 off 36 balls in the first innings, the left-handed batter came out to bat at an unusual No. 8 in the third innings and managed only 8 runs from 18 balls before being dismissed.
ICYMI: An unwell Rishabh Pant has not taken the field on Day 4 of the Irani Cup match against Jammu and Kashmir. Sarfaraz Khan is leading Rest of India in Pant's absence https://t.co/5YwCx1204E
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 4, 2026
Rishabh Pant praises bowlers after Rest of India’s Irani Cup triumph
Meanwhile, the Iran Cup 2026 ended in just three and a half days, thanks to excellent seam bowling performance from the Rest of India bowlers as they won the trophy by crushing Jammu & Kashmir by 167 runs at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar.
Smaran Ravichandran smashed 68 and 135, playing a key role in the rest of India’s thrilling victory. Mukesh Kumar (8), Aakash Deep (6), and Mukesh Choudhary (6) starred with the ball against J&K. Amid this, Another roadblock for Hardik Pandya, all-rounder ruled out for at least 3-4 weeks.
After winning the Irani Cup, Rishabh Pant praised his bowlers after the win, saying the team’s plan was to bowl fuller and attack the stumps. After bowling too short in the first innings, the bowlers corrected their lengths in the second innings.
Plan was fuller on the stumps: Pant reveals bowling plan
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rishabh Pant said, as quoted by Cricbuzz, "When you win, all the pain, all the fatigue, goes away for sure. Mostly the plan was to bowl fuller in the first innings. That was the conversation we had with the bowlers that we were like, We would back up the length. That was something we wanted to correct in the second innings because we knew our bowlers were really good, but the problem was the first innings we bowled too much back of the length, and we corrected that and bowled fuller and fuller in the second innings.”
The ROI skipper further added, “See, definitely the plan was fuller on the stump. You know, obviously you will get disappointed because when you're not sticking to the plan, but at the same time, you know, when you come up with a plan and you stick to it and you can see things happening, it's lovely to see.”
Pant also praised Smaran for his excellent batting under pressure in both innings. He signed off by saying, “Smaran, the way he played in both innings, I think it was outstanding innings, especially since we were under pressure, especially in the second innings, the way he played, it was outstanding.”
