India vs Pakistan: Pant serves drinks for team-mates after special permission from match referee

Rishabh Pant, who has been brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, is not yet an official replacement and according to the guidelines, shouldn't have been in the dressing room.

Rishabh Pant (in picture) has been brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan.

Rishabh Pant, who joined the Indian team in Manchester on Saturday as a cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, was seen serving drinks to his team-mates during the India-Pakistan fixture at the Old Trafford on Sunday. 

Though he is not officially a part of India’s 15-member squad yet, the team management took special permission from the International Cricket Council match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, to allow him to serve drinks. The request was made to the referee after Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were injured .

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“This is a special case. He was just allowed to be on the ground to serve drinks. He did not go there as anyone’s replacement,” one of the team officials told  Sportstar . As per the tournament guidelines, Pant could not field as he is yet to be officially drafted into the squad as a replacement.

Halfway into Pakistan's innings, Pant was seen entering the dressing room wearing black tee and white jacket. A few minutes later, he was at the ground -- donning Bhuvneshwar's jersey -- serving drinks to the Indian players on the ground. He was also seen sharing light moments with physio Patrick Farhart and Dinesh Karthik.