Former England cricketer David Lloyd has criticised Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, suggesting he was exaggerating his injury during the fourth Test at Old Trafford. Lloyd's comments came after Pant, who suffered a toe fracture while batting on Day 1, returned to bat following Shardul Thakur's dismissal a day later.
Pant sustained the injury while attempting to reverse sweep Chris Woakes' yorker, which struck him on his right toe. Despite the injury, he came back to continue his innings at 37, receiving applause from the Manchester crowd.
Lloyd shared the sentiment from the legends lounge at the venue regarding Pant's injury situation.
"I've never had a metatarsal, which I think is somewhere in the foot, seeing Rishabh Pant. I have had a smashed hand against Andy Roberts and a broken cheekbone. I couldn't bat on after either, although I think I did continue when I had a broken finger. Pant looked in pain; it was pretty heroic of him to come out, though," Lloyd told
talkSPORT Cricket.
"I was in that legends lounge today, and the consensus was, 'He is milking that injury. It can't be that bad. He's milked it, coming down those steps, and one or two said, 'He should be timed out."
The incident has reignited discussions about allowing substitutes for injuries in Test cricket. Lloyd expressed his views on the matter.
"I probably am against runners, but I am pro substitutes for an external injury. It opens up a can of worms, it really does. But if it is an external injury, a break, and medically he isn't going to be fit for six weeks, you could have a like-for-like substitute. So that's something else that you've got to consider. Not like replacing a batter with a spinner, though."
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