India is gearing up for the 4th Test which will be played at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The match is a must-win for India if the team wants to level the series, but concerns remain over Rishabh Pant’s fitness. Pant injured his left index finger while he was wicket-keeping during the Lord’s Test. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed that the team is closely monitoring Pant’s recovery and his fitness will be properly assessed ahead of the match which is all set to begin on July 23.

In the third Test, Rishabh Pant scored 74 in first innings and 9 in the second but he was seen in visible discomfort after injuring his finger. Due to the injury, he did not take up wicketkeeping responsibility. India lost the third Test by 22 runs and now the trails 1-2.

Just ahead of the fourth Test, India’s assistant coach gave an update about Rishabh Pant’s injury and his chances of playing in the upcoming match.

“He will bat in Manchester before the Test. I don’t think one is going to keep Rishabh out of the Test, no matter what. He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third Test and it’s only going to get easier and easier on his finger.”

“Keeping is obviously the last part of the process to make sure that he can keep. We don’t want to go through that again where we have to replace the keeper halfway through in the innings. But he rested today. We’re just trying to give his finger as long as possible and hopefully he’s good to go in Manchester in the first training session,” said ten Doeschate in a press conference.

When Pant was unable to take up the wicketkeeping duties due to his injury, Dhruv Jurel stepped in with the gloves. Doeschate mentioned that Jurel remains the top contender for selection if Pant doesn’t recover in time.

“He is in the equation. But I mean, obviously, if Rishabh is fit, he plays the next Test and does both,” Ryan Ten Doeschate said