Rishabh Pant will not play for India in the first two games. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a tour of New Zealand in a statement on Monday. Due to a left-side strain he received while guiding the Rest of India in the Irani Cup, the wicketkeeper-batter’s eligibility for the tour was contingent on his fitness.
On October 6, 2026, the Men’s Selection Committee first revealed the India A team, which includes Pant. Following the injury, the BCCI announced that Dhruv Jurel will remain the team’s captain while Kushagra will take over as wicketkeeper for the first two multi-day matches.
Three multi-day games between India A and New Zealand A are planned. The first takes place in Lincoln from October 24 to 27, the second in Christchurch from October 31 to November 3, and the third in Lincoln from November 7 to 10.
Pant is still receiving treatment from the BCCI Medical Team and is making good progress. His availability for the third game will be decided at a later time. An assessment of Pant’s suitability to compete in the third India match will be made later. A match will be played in Lincoln from November 7 to 10.
He is therefore still available for that fixture. Given his dual function as a wicketkeeper and batsman, Kushagra was chosen by the selection committee as a like-for-like substitute for Pant, who was unavailable for the first two games. He is included in the squad as the designated wicketkeeper for the Lincoln and Christchurch matches.
Updated India A Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel [C] [WK], Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar, and Kumar Kushagra [WK].
