“He then sent me a voice note” - Chris Woakes reveals chat with Rishabh Pant amid shoulder dislocation in ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

England seamer Chris Woakes has disclosed his chat with Rishabh Pant amid his shoulder injury during the fifth Test against India at The Oval in London. The 36-year-old stated that Pant sent a voice note wishing him good luck with his recovery.

Woakes injured his shoulder while fielding on Day 1, ruling him out of the remainder of the Test. Although the right-arm seamer showed immense bravado by walking out to bat on Day 5 wearing a shoulder sling, his efforts weren't enough as India closed out the dramatic Test by six runs.

Speaking to The Guardian days after the nail-biting encounter, Woakes revealed that he also sent commiserations to Pant for fracturing his foot during the fourth Test in Manchester.

"I saw Rishabh [Pant] had 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,’ etc. 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 suffered a gruesome toe injury on the opening day at Old Trafford as he attempted a reverse sweep off Woakes' bowling. The southpaw did come to bat on Day 2 and scored a crucial fifty, but could not keep wickets and was subsequently ruled out of the final Test.

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"I’m with Stokesy" - Chris Woakes on injury substitutes

Chris Woakes came out to bat with a shoulder sling (Credits: Getty)

With England captain Ben Stokes terming the need for injury substitutes 'ridiculous', the Warwickshire seamer threw his weight behind the opinion, claiming that there would be too many grey areas. Chris Woakes added:

"I’m with Stokesy, to be honest. Having played for 18 years, the game is what it is: you lose a player and as a team you have to find a way. It makes you more resilient and the team stronger. I do understand why people might think it’s needed for freak injuries like mine but there would be too many grey areas or loopholes."

England's next Test assignment would be the 2025-26 Ashes starting in Perth on November 21