Rishabh Pant sidelined from Rajkot ODI; to undergo rehab after concussion

Rishabh Pant won’t be a part of India’s second ODI against Australia on January 17 at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot. In the first game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, he developed concussion following which he didn’t keep wickets. Instead, KL Rahul donned the keeping gloves. Pant was hit on the helmet by a vicious bouncer from Pat Cummins that also led to the former’s dismissal.

The leather deflected off the helmet after a top-edge and Ashton Turner at backward point didn’t have any difficulty in catching the ball. Manish Pandey came in as Pant’s substitute during Australia’s run-chase. After Pant didn’t keep wickets, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dropped a tweet, stating that the southpaw was being kept ‘under observation’.

Pant head to Bengaluru

As reported by Sportstar, Pant is stable and his scan reports are clear. The Uttarakhand-born has been discharged from the hospital, much to the relief of the team management. Pant will now be heading to Bengaluru where he is set to undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Bengaluru is also the venue for the third and final ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Pant’s injury has meant that Team India has to make a forced change for the do-do-die contest in Rajkot. The left-hander didn’t have a great outing with the bat in Mumbai. He managed 28 runs off 33 balls before succumbing to Cummins’ vicious bouncer in the second delivery of the 44th over.

India under severe pressure

India started 2020 on a grand note, beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-match T20I series. However, the Men in Blue got a reality check after the pasting at the hands of Australia in the opening One Dayer. After being put in to bat first, the hosts were shot out for 255 on a decent batting strip at the iconic venue.

Shikhar Dhawan got 74 runs, but apart from that there wasn’t much contribution from the others. The run-chase turned out to be one-sided. Aaron Finch and David Warner scored tons to help the Aussies complete the chase with 74 balls to spare. The hosts have loads of homework to do going into the Rajkot ODI.