Pant allays injury concern, comes out to bat after copping triple blows against SA A

India A skipper Rishabh Pant allayed injury concerns as he came out to bat after being forced to retire hurt on the third day of the four-day match against South Africa A here on Saturday.

Pant was taken out as a precautionary measure after he was hit thrice by South African pacer Tshepo Moraki towards the end of the morning session at the BCCI CoE grounds here.

The southpaw was batting on 17 off 22 balls then. Dhruv Jurel walked in for him. He was then seen with his left-hand strapped. However, Pant, who was named in the India squad for the two-Test home series against South Africa from November 14, later came out to bat after the dismissal of Harsh Dubey.

Earlier, a team official had informed that Pant would come out to bat if the situation demands it.

''The team physios are observing him, and they will take a call whether he can bat or not, if the match situation comes to that,'' the official told PTI.

Moraki hit Pant flush on the helmet as he attempted a reverse pull. He was then hit on the elbow while playing a conventional pull and eventually on the abdomen area that left him wincing in pain.

He was subjected to medical attention on all three occasions. India A coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar finally asked Pant to return despite him wanting to continue to bat.