Pant fails fitness test, gets second chance before NZ Tests

Rishabh Pant, India’s wicketkeeper-batter, failed a fitness test at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday, Cricinfo reports. The BCCI medical team is expected to reassess him within the next two days to decide whether he can travel to New Zealand, where the first Test of the two-match series begins in Wellington on 19 November.

The injury and the plan

Pant sustained a side strain during the Irani Cup in early October and has been rehabilitating at the Centre of Excellence since 23 October. Selectors included him in both the India A squad and the senior men’s Test squad, subject to fitness clearance, but he was ruled out of the first two four-day matches between India A and New Zealand A.

If he is cleared, he is likely to join India A for the third four-day match against New Zealand A, which starts at 3:00 AM IST on Sunday, 8 November.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Sunday, after India’s 3-2 T20I series win, that he would share Pant’s availability once he had it. Dhruv Jurel is also in India’s Test squad as a wicketkeeping option alongside Pant, according to the ICC.

What’s next

India’s next match is the first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday, 4 November at 7:30 AM IST, the opening game of the five-match New Zealand vs India ODI Series 2026.