Rishabh Pant accuses Ben Stokes of deliberately hurting him, exposes his dark side

Rishabh Pant with an injured foot and Ben Stokes [Source: X]Rishabh Pant, the star Indian wicketkeeper-batter, had one of the toughest times of his life during the India Tour of England in 2025, and yet he endured it with a glaring smile and a bravado. Rishabh Pant fractured his toe with a crushing yorker from Chris Woakes while he was batting at the Manchester Test. However, he beat the pain soon enough. Pant went in for a quick checkup at the hospital and was back on the field to bat for his team after a few wickets tumbled. The whole Manchester crowd lauded his bravery, but the England Cricket team, led by Ben Stokes, was keen on exploiting the injury. Rishabh Pant recalls toe fracture bravado at ManchesterSpeaking at a talk show event arranged by Sports Tak, Rishabh Pant was hilariously descriptive of the nitty gritties of his doings after he fractured his toe. While the discussion at the talk ranged from the T20 World Cup 2022 defeat to dressing room vibes, Pant’s response to the heroic gesture on July 23, 2025, was the highlight. As the hosts of the show queried on what actually happened to Pant after the foot fracture, Pant didn’t spare any details. “See, at that time the first innings was very important because of where the series stood, and we didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. When it first happened, obviously nothing came to mind except the pain. Then I went to the hospital and there were discussions about what to do and what not to do. We were at a very crucial stage, especially in the first innings. We were behind in the game. So the discussion was about how it felt. We talked among ourselves and realised that it was a complete fracture, the bone had completely snapped, my last toe. There was a big gap. So we had to decide what the worst-case scenario could be. The doctor said the worst case would be that surgery might be required. In my mind, I thought the worst scenario can come later; first, we need to win or save the match for India. I had to be on the field no matter what, especially when the chips are down. If the match is ahead of you, you can still think differently. But when India is behind, you do whatever you can and put your body on the line. That feeling was inside me,” Pant said. How Ben Stokes played a dirty trick with Pant The hosts then added how Rishabh Pant’s heroic gesture to come back to the field won the hearts of people before one of them interrupted to bring in the Ben Stokes question, where he insisted that Stokes wanted his bowlers to target his fractured foot.“Everyone had a soft corner, but the England team didn’t. Ben Stokes knew that you had a fracture in your foot even then he wanted to bowl you there,” the host asked.AajTak @aajtak Ben Stokes ने ऋषभ पंत के फ्रैक्चर हुए पैर पर फ़ेंकी थी गेंद, पंत बोले "सोचा तो था, लेकिन उसको बोल थोड़ी सकता हूँ " #SalaamCricket2026 #T20WorldCup | @RishabhPant17 Feb 5, 2026, 2:40 PM Rishabh Pant’s response was genuine, with massive sportsmanship written all over his statement.“See, what I am saying is that when we are on the ground, it may look friendly and all that. But once you go inside, they want to win and we also want to win. You must have thought that since I had a fracture, they should let it go. I did think about it, but I couldn’t say it out loud,” Pant said unwaveringly.Pant on scripting the comebackPant also elaborated how he made a way to come back to the field as India required solid batters to post a worthy total in the first innings. “Painkiller injections were given, and the doctors were very kind. Our Indian doctors helped a lot at the hospital and even came to the ground to give painkiller injections there. There was soft taping. A plaster was put on the first day, but then it had to be removed. With a plaster, you can’t wear shoes, and I had to wear shoes. Taking it off was painful as well, but there was no option,” Pant revealed.Nevertheless, in the match, Rishabh Pant managed to score 54 runs off 75 deliveries to push India’s total to 358 runs. England replied with a 669, to which India remained pigheaded to script a gritty comeback to end the match in a crucial draw on Day 5.