Morne Morkel confirmed Rishabh Pant’s right shoulder is “badly bruised” after Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. India’s bowling coach said Pant’s movement was restricted during warm-up on Monday morning, and the team will monitor him overnight before deciding if he can keep wickets on Day 4.
“His right shoulder is badly bruised. When he tried warm up this morning, his movement was restricted. They will be monitoring him tonight. Hopefully he’ll be behind the stumps tomorrow.”
Morne Morkel, press conference after Day 3, August 25, 2026
Pant has not fielded since late on Day 2. Dhruv Jurel has kept wickets in his place for more than a full day’s play.
The injury is not one blow. It is two across two days.
On Day 1, Lahiru Kumara’s bouncer struck Pant on the left wrist in the 58th over. He left the field immediately. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed that evening that Pant would be fit to bat the next day.
He was. On Day 2, Pant returned and scored 63 off 89 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes in a 112-run seventh-wicket partnership with Jurel. Then Asitha Fernando’s short ball caught him on the right shoulder in the 94th over.
He did not keep wickets after that. On Day 3, he did not take the field at all.
That innings of 63 carried a record. Pant surpassed MS Dhoni to become India’s highest-scoring wicketkeeper in away and neutral Tests, the first Indian keeper to cross 2,500 runs outside home conditions. He had already become the fastest batter and first Indian to reach 100 Test sixes during the 1st Test at Galle, which India won by 165 runs.
Jurel did not just fill in. He dominated. His unbeaten 115 off 177 balls anchored India’s first innings of 503/9 declared. Behind the stumps, he kept cleanly through more than 80 overs of Sri Lanka’s reply.
BACK-TO-BACK FIFTIES FOR RISHABH PANT! 🔥
He came back after an injury setback and even took another blow to his shoulder, but nothing can stop him! 💪🇮🇳#SLvIND #Tests #Colombo #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/RUq4vTcpyt
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) August 24, 2026
Sri Lanka closed Day 3 at 265/8, trailing by 239 runs with only two wickets remaining. Sonal Dinusha (85*) held the innings together after Pasindu Sooriyabandara’s 80.
Rain forced early stumps, and the forecast for Day 4 gives a 92% chance of precipitation. Sri Lanka still need 39 runs to avoid the follow-on.
India’s position in this match is close to unassailable. The question Morkel’s update raises is not about this Test. It is about what comes next.
View this post on Instagram
Insider Read
A wicketkeeper’s right shoulder absorbs every take outside off stump. It drives the dive to the right, controls the throw back to the bowler’s end, and stabilizes the body on low catches.
Restricted movement in that shoulder means the keeper cannot fully extend on the shot that matters most in Test cricket: the edge going to the right of the stumps. Playing through this is not bravery. It is a question of whether India turn a bruise into something that costs them their first-choice keeper for longer.
India have injury management concerns that stretch beyond this series. Pant’s body has taken punishment across formats for years.
With this Test all but won, and a keeper behind the stumps who just scored a century and has not missed a take, the smart decision is obvious. Protect Pant. Let Jurel finish this match.
Also Read:
