Rishabh Pant went off the field after getting hit on the right knee while keeping wicket on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand. India captain Rohit Sharma said there was some swelling and the team didn't want to take any risks given Pant had recovered from serious knee injuries sustained during a car crash in December 2022.
The injury happened in the 37th over of New Zealand's innings, when Pant missed a stumping chance against Devon Conway off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja and got hit on the knee after he failed to collect the ball. He went off the field immediately and was replaced by Dhruv Jurel.
"Unfortunately, the ball hit straight on his knee cap, the same leg on which he has got a surgery done. So he has got a bit of swelling on it," Rohit said after play in Bengaluru. "And you know the muscles are quite tender at this point in time, so it's a precautionary measure. We don't want to take a risk. Rishabh doesn't want to take a risk because he has gone through a massive surgery on that particular leg. That was the reason for him to go inside. Hopefully, at night he can recover and we will see him back on the field tomorrow."
After suffering career-threatening injuries during the car crash, Pant made his comeback only in IPL 2024.
India were dismissed for 46 in their first innings in Bengaluru, their lowest Test total at home and their third-lowest overall. New Zealand ended the day on 180 for 3, ahead by 134 runs.