Rishabh Pant’s availability for the 4th Test against England in Manchester isn’t fully guaranteed because of a finger injury.
Pant has hit 88 sixes in Test cricket, just 3 short of Virender Sehwag’s record of 90 for India. Sehwag currently holds the record for the most sixes for India in Test matches, but Pant is close to taking the lead. The global record belongs to England captain Ben Stokes, with 133 sixes. Brendon McCullum is second with 107, followed by Adam Gilchrist (100), Tim Southee (98), and Chris Gayle (98).
For India, Rohit Sharma is tied with Pant at 88 sixes, while MS Dhoni (78) and Ravindra Jadeja (74) are also among the top hitters.
Pant hurt his finger while keeping wickets in the Lord’s Test. During Jasprit Bumrah’s 34th over on Day 1 of the third Test, Pant dived to stop the ball but didn’t catch it cleanly, allowing England to score two runs. He was in pain and left the field for treatment, with Dhruv Jurel replacing him as wicketkeeper.
Even with the finger injury, Pant batted in both innings, scoring 74 off 112 balls in the first innings and he hit two sixes to break Richards’ record for most sixes against England in this format.
In the second innings, Jofra Archer dismissed him for 9 off 12 balls. While he could bat, he couldn’t keep wicket. It’s expected that Pant will be fit enough to keep wicket for the fourth Test.