Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting reckons that Rishabh Pant might not have a fractured toe considering that he managed to bat on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England in Manchester. Ponting, however, went on praise the injured keeper-batter for his brave innings.Pant retired hurt on Day 1 of the Manchester Test against England after an attempted reverse sweep went horribly wrong. He was not on the team bus in the morning on Thursday, July 24. The stumper, however, joined the team following a hospital visit and even came out to bat at the fall of Shardul Thakur's wicket, receiving a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd.Pant, who was batting on 37 when he retired hurt, ended up scoring 54 before being knocked over by England pacer Jofra Archer. Sharing his thoughts on the keeper-batter's decision to walk out after India lost their second wicket on Day 2, Ponting told Sky Sports Cricket:"When he didn't go out after the first wicket fell [on Day 2], we all thought that there's no chance he's going to bat. There were all sorts of rumors going around the ground - it's broken, six weeks... we don't know yet. I would suspect, though, that the fact that he went out there, maybe it isn't broken. I heard during commentary, if it is a fracture and if he gets hit again, it could get a whole lot worse."Pant and Ponting had worked together at Delhi Capitals (DC) as captain and coach respectively in the IPL. Hailing the Indian wicketkeeper for his resilient effort, 'Punter' commented:"He did everything he could for his team - critical runs for India at the end of their batting innings. Probably says a lot about this current group. They will do anything then can, especially where the series is at, 2-1 coming here in the fourth Test match. Every single run in the first innings is crucial."Pant was the ninth wicket to fall in India's first innings, with the score reading 349. India were all-out for 358 as Jasprit Bumrah (4) was caught behind off Archer following a smart DRS call."Need to think about allowing a runner" - Ricky Ponting joins debate around Rishabh Pant's injuryPant's struggle while batting due to his injury has reignited the debate over having runners in the game. The rule was done away with by the ICC since many batters were found to be misusing it.. Ponting, however, reckons that in rare cases like Pant's injury, the option of allowing a runner could be explored. He said:"I know there are no runners in the game anymore. But, when you have got such an obvious external blow, everyone can see it. It's almost like the whole game stopped. He couldn't run, put pressure back on the other batter. Obviously, he can get a sub when he's not batting, but for a direct blow like that, maybe they need to think about allowing someone to have a runner."Meanwhile, England went to stumps on Day 2 in Manchester at 225-2 after 46 overs. Openers Zak Crawley (84) and Ben Duckett (94) added 166 in 32 overs.