Can Dhruv Jurel bat in Rishabh Pant's absence in Manchester Test?

Overview

• Rishabh Pant suffered a toe fracture while batting in the first innings of the Manchester Test against England
• The star player is likely to be ruled out of the Test and the remainder of the series
• Dhruv Jurel had kept for India in the Lord's Test due to Pant's finger injury

Rishabh Pant suffered a toe fracture while batting in the first innings of the Manchester Test against England while attempting to play a reverse sweep against Chris Woakes. The star player is likely to be ruled out of the Test and the remainder of the series, as the injury seems a bit too serious. It has led to discussion on India's position in the ongoing Test.

In the Lord's Test, Pant suffered a finger injury while keeping, which led to him only playing as a pure batter for the rest of the match, as Dhruv Jurel kept wickets. However, in the Manchester Test, his injury is a bit too serious, which could mean him being ruled out of action for the entire Test.

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As per ICC's rules, a wicketkeeper batter's injury, apart from a concussion, have a replacement only to keep wickets, not for batting. Even a fielder can keep wickets for the side. An ICC rule was updated to allow keeper-to-keeper replacement for their glovework. However, the access to bat for the remainder of the Test is not given.

"A substitute shall not bowl or act as captain but may act as wicketkeeper only with the consent of the umpires. Only a nominated player may bat and may do so even though a substitute fielder has previously acted for him," ICC's Test Playing Conditions state.

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Does ICC's latest updated rule allow Dhruv Jurel to bat in Rishabh Pant's absence in Manchester Test?

A new rule has been proposed by ICC to test instances of having a full-injury replacements for a period of six months from October 2025 to March 2026. Unfortunately, as of July 2025, there is no provison for the replacement players to bat in the absence of a designated wicketkeeper in a Test match.

"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," ICC's rule states.

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The only case for a totally like-to-like replacement is possible only when a player suffers a concussion upon being hit on head. As Pant suffered a toe fracture, which does not fall under concussion, Jurel will not be able to bat in his absence in the Manchester Test. However, he can keep wickets, just like he did in the Lord's Test.