How bad was Rishabh Pant's toe fracture? Akash Deep provides first-hand experience; ‘you wouldn't want to stand there’

On Sunday, Rishabh Pant posted a picture on his Instagram story. With a bandaged left foot, Pant's “How many more days in this” caption was left for everyone to understand the wicketkeeper's loud cry within. But as fate would have it, it would take a little more time for Pant to return back in action, expectedly before the home Test series in October against West Indies.

The 27-year-old southpaw fractured his left foot while trying to play a reverse sweep against Mark Wood on the first day of the fourth Test in Manchester. After getting hit by a full toss delivery, Pant immediately went down on the ground, grimacing in pain before being take off for medical treatment in a golf cart.

While it was there for everyone to see how bad the injury was, following the visuals of Pant painful expressions, India pacer Akash Deep gave a first-hander account of how it looked like actually. “The type of fracture he suffered, if you had seen that, you would not want to stand there,” said Akash Deep, who didn't play the Manchester Test told media on the sidelines of Cricket Association of Bengal's Annual Awards.

Despite the injury, Pant showed tremendous grit and determination to come out to bat and score a half-century on the second day. A warrior himself, having survived a near-fatal car accident, Pant showed what it takes to play for the country and inspired millions around the world.

“Rishabh is a strong player, and the kind of will power he has, he can only do those things. Blood was coming out of Rishabh's feet after the fracture and the muscles had also ruptured. Still, he numbed that area to come out to bat. Such things can only be done by Rishabh,” added Akash Deep, whose 66 at The Oval and 12 wickets including a fifer, played a huge role in India 2-2 draw against England.

Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly handed the award to Akash Deep. “I would like to thank the CAB for this award. This Association has helped me in my cricketing journey immensely and helped me where I am today. I want to thank each and every one at CAB,” he said upon receiving the award.