Rishabh Pant returns to bat after retiring hurt against South Africa A in second unofficial Test

New Delhi: India A captain Rishabh Pant had left the field after being hit on the arm during the third day of the second unofficial Test against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 8.

He took a hit on the helmet, one on his right elbow and another to his abdomen, which eventually forced him to go off the field. This came as an injury scare for the senior team, which will take on South Africa in a two-match Test series, beginning next Friday, November 14.

Pant was keen on continuing to bat even after being hit, but was taken off as a precautionary measure.

The first hit to his helmet came when he tried to play a reverse sweep against the fast bowler and missed it completely. The wicketkeeper-batter was usually off-balance while playing the shot and ended up being floored after failing to connect with the bat.

The physio conducted a mandatory concussion test and cleared him to continue. Shortly after, he was hit again on the right elbow, which needed some pain-relief spray and taping up. The third hit was off a ball that seamed back in from length and left him in more pain.

He then reluctantly walked off the field, on an unbeaten 17 runs off 22 balls. Dhruv Jurel, India's second wicketkeeper in the Test series, came next and scored a half-century in the second session.  However, Pant returned to bat at the fall of the sixth wicket.

Pant scored 90 runs off 113 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and four maximums in the first unofficial Test against South Africa A last week, and also looked comfortable keeping wickets. He was dismissed by Moreki on a short ball in the first innings of the ongoing match for 24 runs.

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep