Pant suffers blow to finger, Jurel called up as substitute keeper

India had to call on substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel after Rishabh Pant was hit on the left hand in the second session of the first day of Lord's Test when collecting a ball down the leg side. It resulted in a long break in play during which he received attention and treatment, but Pant couldn't carry on beyond the end of the ongoing over, the 34th of Engand's innings.

Since 2017, the regulations of the game allow for a wicketkeeper to be substituted during the match, but the substitute is not allowed to bat. Since his debut, Pant has been India's second-highest run-getter in Test cricket. He scored two hundreds in the first Test at Headingley, becoming the first wicketkeeper to do so after Andy Flower.

In the 34th over at Lord's, Bumrah ended up slipping a ball down the leg side. Pant went for it, but was hit on the index finger. Even after taking treatment, he looked in excruciating pain as he put his gloves back on.

Jurel, who debuted in Pant's absence in 2023-24, averaged 63.33 with the bat in his first series in 2023-24. Once Pant was back in the side, Jurel played one Test in Australia as a batter alone, aggregating 12 runs across two innings.

The series was level 1-1 after England won in Leeds and India in Birmingham. Choosing to bat first ,only for the second time at home in the Bazball era, England were 93 for 2 when Pant got injured. Joe Root and Ollie Pope were the batters in the middle. Not only was the decision at toss a departure, their scoring rate and intent was also the lowest in the Bazball era.

There will be a long break between the third and the fourth Tests. An update on Pant's status and availability during the rest of the Test was awaited.