Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, currently sidelined with a fractured foot, shared a witty and heartfelt message for England all-rounder Chris Woakes following his international retirement on September 29. Pant’s post, blending humor and genuine good wishes, paid tribute to the player who had inadvertently caused his recent injury during the fifth Test in Manchester.
“Happy Retirement Woakesy. You have been amazing on the field. Lots of discipline, a big smile and always good vibes. Now you can finally give that bowling arm a rest and my foot too. You definitely left a mark on me before retirement. Wishing you a fantastic journey ahead in whatever you choose,” Pant playfully wrote on social media.
The humorous tribute refers to an incident where Pant suffered a fractured foot while attempting a reverse sweep against Woakes. Despite the injury, Pant heroically returned to the crease to score crucial runs for India. Woakes, too, showed immense commitment during the match, injuring his shoulder while saving a boundary and later batting one-handed in England’s narrow six-run loss, which secured India a 2-2 series draw.
Woakes himself had previously shared details of their private exchange with The Guardian. He mentioned, “I saw Rishabh Pant put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied thanking him: ‘Appreciate the love and hope the foot is OK.’ He then sent me a voice note saying: ‘I hope all is OK, good luck with the recovery and I hope we meet again out there some day.’ I obviously said sorry for the broken foot.”
Pant’s injury has kept him out of the T20 Asia Cup 2025 and will also see him miss the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies. Dhruv Jurel has been named as his replacement in the Team India squad, with Narayan Jagadeesan serving as a backup wicketkeeper.
At 36, Woakes concludes a distinguished England career spanning 15 years, during which he played 62 Tests, 122 ODIs, and 33 T20Is. He picked up 192 Test wickets, scored over 2,000 runs, and was a vital part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning squad. Reflecting on his journey, Woakes wrote on Instagram, “Representing England, wearing the Three Lions and sharing the field with teammates… are things I’ll look back on with the greatest pride.”
The Warwickshire pacer is set to continue playing county and franchise cricket, while England prepares for the Ashes series against Australia, commencing November 21 in Perth.