India bowling coach Morne Morkel on Tuesday said Rishabh Pant is “badly bruised” which is affecting his movement, but hoped to see the wicketkeeper batter return to action on the fourth day of the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka.
Pant did not keep wickets for the whole of the third day here, as Dhruv Jurel donned the big gloves.
Pant was sitting in the dressing room with a strapped hand, as he had copped a blow on his shoulder while batting on the second day.
“Rishabh, obviously, got hit on the shoulder. I think that was discussed last night, as he is quite badly bruised. I think he was just a little bit restricted in his movement this morning when he tried to warm up,” Morkel said in the post-day press conference.
“I think we will keep on monitoring him now overnight and, hopefully, he will be behind the stumps for us tomorrow. I think it is important to have him there, his reading of the game is exceptional,” he added.
Morkel said Kuldeep Yadav would have been in the mix for selection had he not contracted a viral fever ahead of the second Test.
“No, that’s (selection) not my call. I think he was asked to fill certain roles for the first Test, which was sort of a tough Test. But for me, I reckon his name would have been in the mix for the virtual selection,” he said.
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Monday said that Kuldeep was not considered for selection for Colombo Test because he was carrying a viral fever from Galle.
The former South African fast bowler said India will look to grab the remaining two Sri Lankan wickets at the earliest on Wednesday to keep the advantage with them.
“The key is to find that breakthrough. For us, it is just about keep on asking questions, keep on rolling your best ball, and bowl well in partnerships. We are quite lucky that we have 500 on the board,” he said.
Sri Lanka offered some late fight through Sonal Dinusha, Keshara Nuwantha and Lahiru Kumara, and Morkel said such phases are a part and parcel of cricket.
“You want to get off the field as quickly as possible, that is always the plan. But it is part of the game. Kookaburra will sometimes get a little bit softer, and it is quite hard to get a little bit of zip off the wicket.
“I thought they (SL) played quite nicely, and they formed a nice partnership there. I don’t think we have got issues bowling to them, I think it is just the nature of the game,” he said.