The wicketkeeper-batsman was brought in as cover for opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has been ruled out of three matches due to a fractured left thumb.

Rishabh Pant is flying into England as a cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar confirmed the latest development to the media at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday afternoon.

“The thing is in about 10 to 12 days, we will be taking a call on the status of Shikhar. Until that point, just to make sure that if and when the replacement is required — and I am saying if and when — it is always good to have the replacement player [Pant] coming in and practising with the team, as a stand-by. He [Pant] bats in the middle order and obviously him being a left-hander helps,” Bangar said.

As for Dhawan, Bangar explained: “We will be observing him and by the 10th or 12th day, we will get to know where he stands, and we will be in a better position to take a call because we don’t want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar. As far as the batting order goes, yes, K.L. [Rahul] moves to the top, and there are various (middle-order) options the team-management can utilise going into the next game. Obviously, Vijay Shankar is going to be an option, and there are a couple of others as well.”