'Injured' Rishabh Pant Will Not be Allowed to Bat at Lord's? Here's What ICC Rule States

India vs England: In what can be labelled as an unfortunate incident from an Indian point of view, vice-captain Rishabh Pant picked up a finger injury on Thursday at Lord's during the third Test and now the questions that beckon are, will he bat. In the second session of the game, he was hit on his finger while collecting a ball down the leg-side. His injury resulted in a long stoppage before he was eventually replaced by Dhruv Jurel, who kept wickets for the rest of the day. 

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Will Pant Bat? 

The wicketkeeper can be replaced during a match, but the substitute cannot bat. So, if Pant is not fit - it could be catastrophic from an Indian point of view as he has been in sublime touch in this series. The Board of Control of Cricket in India issued a statement on Pant after the day's play. The statement did not give any clarity as such, which makes the situation even more murky. 

“Pant got hit on his left index finger. He is receiving treatment at the moment and under the supervision of the medical team," the BCCI statement read. 

Can Jurel Bat Instead of Pant? 

No, that cannot happen as per a law laid down by the ICC back in 2017. 

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As per the ICC's announcement last month, "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."

However, the rule only applies to domestic cricket at present. In Test cricket, hence, Jurel can't be allowed to replace Pant as a 'fully participating player'.