After a historic victory in the second test at Edgbaston, Team India faces a new problem after their star wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant faced an injury in the first innings of the ongoing third test at Lord’s.

On Day 1 of the third test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, Dhruv Jurel replaced Pant as a wicketkeeper.

However, it wouldn’t be possible for Jurel to completely replace Pant in the batting line-up of the ongoing test, despite the International Cricket Council (ICC) announcing a new player replacement rule. This is because the rule applies to domestic cricket at present, where an injured player on the field after the start of the match might be replaced by a like-for-like player.

Rishabh injured his left index finger, and it is unlikely that he could participate in the remainder of the series if the injury is too severe. This left the Indian management in a dilemma to search for an ideal replacement rather than preferring a player from the existing 18-member squad.

As experts suggest, Ishan Kishan, Sarfaraz Khan, and Tilak Varma, let’s find out how these three players are eligible enough to replace Pant in India’s squad for the forthcoming matches of the series.

1. Sarfaraz Khan

After Sarfaraz Khan made his impressive test debut in the home test series against England in February 2024, it seemed that he would certainly secure his spot as a permanent player. Before the New Zealand test series in the same year, the Mumbai batter slammed a double century against the Rest of India in the Irani Cup 2024.

Despite his 150-run knock against New Zealand, he was sidelined following a subpar performance in just four innings.

Ahead of the senior men’s team’s 5-match series, Sarfaraz slammed a 92-run knock out of 119 balls (including 13 fours) against England A in the first unofficial test.

The 27-year-old could be one of the perfect replacements for Pant, given his aggressive batting style and ability to compile huge runs instantly at No.5. However, in this scenario, KL Rahul would need to take additional responsibility as a wicketkeeper in the longest format.

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan, India’s young wicketkeeper-batsman, is also touring England with the India A team. The 26-year-old has played First-Class cricket for Nottinghamshire, where he scored two half-centuries in two innings. Moreover, He took four catches and made a good stumping as a wicketkeeper.

The young Indian wicketkeeper toured England before the senior men’s team’s 5-match test series. Although Ishan Kishan hasn’t batted in those two matches, he is already in England, which is advantageous.

So, it would be easy to link up Ishan in the team as a replacement for Rishabh Pant. On top of that, the 26-year-old also has left-handed batting and wicket-keeping skills, which would enhance the chances of a like-for-like replacement in the team.

Ishan Kishan could be the strength of the team because of:

• An aggressive playing style that is similar to Rishabh Pant.
• Capable of scoring quickly, which can add some pressure to the opponents.
• Even before the IPL 2025, Ishan has been in good form, as he scored a hundred in the Buchi Babu pre-season tournament.
• A century in the Duleep Trophy, 2024.
• Scored a hundred in Hampshire (this refers to his recent red-ball performance).
• Of course doesn’t match the wicket-keeping skills of Rishabh Pant, but still Ishan has shown glimpse of improvement with his glove work.

3. Tilak Varma

Although Tilak Varma, has no shortage of talent, still he is kept as final option when nothing else is left to choose. The left-handed batsman is also in England right now playing for Hampshire in the County Championship 2025.

Hailing from Hyderabad, a city in Telangana, India, the young batsman recorded a century in his maiden game for Hampshire. Following this stunning score, Tilak Varma scored 56 and 47 in the two innings of the next game. The left-handed batsman has 8 wickets in his First-Class career at an average of 20.12.

On top of that, he scored an accumulative total of 1,494 runs in 20 first class matches with a good batting average of 48.18. This makes him a preferable replacement option for Pant.

Other than batting, the 22-year-old Indian cricketer is an off-spin bowler, which can be advantageous too.

It is not always a like-for-like replacement that has to be done for a wicket keeper, so replacing Tilak for Rishabh would also free the space taken by Washington Sundar. Moreover, players like Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul can play with Tilak Varma as wicketkeeper-batters.