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As India gear up for the must-win fourth Test in Manchester trailing 1-2 in the five-match series against England, all eyes are on Rishabh Pant – and more specifically, his injured left index finger. But former India head coach Ravi Shastri has delivered a blunt assessment: Pant should not play at all if he’s unfit to keep wickets.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I don’t think he should go in as a specialist batter if he can’t keep,” Shastri said in a video shared by the ICC.“He’ll have to field, and if he fields, that’ll be worse. With the gloves, at least there’s some protection. Without gloves, if he gets something that stings him there, then it won’t be very good. It’ll worsen the injury.”
Pant was struck on the finger on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test and didn’t keep for the rest of the match, with Dhruv Jurel stepping in as a substitute. Though Pant batted through pain and scored a gritty 74, the injury remains a concern heading into the Manchester clash.During Thursday’s optional training session in Beckenham, Pant avoided both keeping and batting drills, opting instead for light workouts. While there was no visible taping on the finger, sources confirmed the pain persists.India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate remains optimistic.“Look, I don’t think you’re going to keep Rishabh out of the Test no matter what,” he said.“He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third Test, and it’s only going to get easier. But keeping is the last part of the recovery. We don’t want to go through that again where we have to replace the keeper mid-match.”Ten Doeschate reiterated that Jurel remains in contention, but Pant will play only if he can do both roles.Shastri, however, was unequivocal.“He’ll have to keep and he’ll have to bat. He can’t do one of the two. If it’s a fracture, he should rest and be ready for The Oval. But if not, he has about nine days to recover,” Shastri said.
