India's vice-captain and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant suffered a finger injury on the first day of the third Test against England at Lord's on Thursday. Such was the severity of this injury that Pant had to go off the field as Dhruv Jurel took his place behind the stumps.
However, the question remains whether Dhruv Jurel can bat if Rishabh Pant is entirely ruled out of this Test match?
What The Rules Says
With Pant's injury being a serious one, Jurel will not be allowed to bat for India if the former does not take the field for the remainder of the Lord's Test match.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a change in playing conditions that allows injured players to be subbed out of the match. However, this rule has not been put into place and will be first trialled in a domestic FC class before using in international matches.
“A player who suffers a serious injury on the field of play at any time after the match has started (including any pre-match warm-up period) may be replaced for the remainder of the match by a fully participating like-for-like player,” the ICC said in a release.
As per section 24.1.2 in the current playing conditions, “a substitute shall not bowl [or bat] or act as captain but may act as wicket-keeper only with the consent of the umpires.”
Speaking of the match, Joe Root made a solid unbeaten 99 as England reached 251 for four at close on Day 1 of the third Test against India at Lord’s on Thursday.
