India Receive Major Relief as Wicket Keeper Completes Recovery

The Indian team has now received a major boost with the recovery of a wicket-keeper. Rishabh Pant suffered a right-sided internal oblique muscle tear (side strain) in the India vs New Zealand ODI series, which had him ruled out for weeks. But now, he is reported to be fit and ready to play international and IPL both.

Rishabh Pant’s Injury

After playing the majority of the games, he also suffered with a brutal foot injury. And it came against Chris Woakes, who bowled a deadly yorker to him. This injury had him ruled out for months, till he returned in time for the series against South Africa. Since his return, he has also participated actively for Delhi's domestic team in the Ranji Trophy or other domestic tournaments.

It was likely that he will be a part of the Indian team for the ODI series against New Zealand. But Pant suffered with yet another injury issue right before the series was set to commence. He suffered with right-sided internal oblique muscle tear (side strain), which ruled him out of action for a few more weeks.

Pant’s Test Run in 2025

Rishabh Pant had a terrific run in 2025 across the Test format. He remained one of the key performers for the Indian team across the tests he played. Whether it was a home game or away, it was consistent for him to score runs with his aggressive striking abilities.

• Innings: 13
• Not Out: 0
• Runs: 629
• Average: 48.38
• Strike Rate: 77.75
• 100s: 2
• 50s: 4

Despite missing out on a few games against England due to an injury, he still remained among the highest run scorers of the tournament. Scoring centuries in both innings of a Test match is also a record being held by Rishabh Pant only, as an Indian wicket-keeper. No one except for him has been able to achieve this record for the Indian team.

While the return of Rishabh Pant is awaited in the Test team, there is another challenge which might be faced by the selectors. And it is related to the player who was a part of the Indian team in place of Rishabh Pant. Dhruv Jurel proved his worth to the Indian team in his absence, and he was able to bring down some brilliant performances.

Dhruv Jurel in Tests in 2025:

While the team tried having both Jurel and Pant at the same time, it didn't work out well in the series against South Africa. Lately, both of the players have been able to do well for their teams in the domestic tournaments, which makes this race even more intense. Jurel came as a replacement for Pant but performed so well that the selectors might face trouble in this matter.