Rishabh Pant Ruled Out of New Zealand Tour Due to Injury; Kumar Kushagra Called Up for India A Squad
Indian wicket keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been sidelined from the first two matches of the India A multi-day tour of New Zealand following an injury in his left side. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on October 12, 2026, that Kumar Kushagra will take Pant’s place for the first two matches.
Initially, the participation of Pant in the tour depended upon his fitness status. The Indian wicket keeper-batsman got injured when he was leading the Rest of India team in the Irani cup. According to the statement by BCCI, Pant is currently under the care of BCCI’s medical team and making good progress. The decision regarding his participation in the third match will be made later.
Kumar Kushagra Gets Opportunity in India A Squad
A young wicket keeper batter named Kushagra from Jharkhand has been called up because of his good performances in red ball cricket played at the domestic level. He has scored a century in the final of the Duleep trophy and then scored another century for India A against Australia A in a four day match held in Puducherry.
The selection of Kushagra will help India A to have one more option of a wicket keeper batter in their starting games.
Dhruv Jurel to Lead India A
As Pant is unavailable for the first two matches, Dhruv Jurel will be at the helm of affairs for India A and will keep the wickets. This side also has experienced international cricketers like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, and Washington Sundar in their ranks.
Updated squad for India A includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar, and Kumar Kushagra for the first two matches.
India A vs New Zealand A: Match Schedule
The two-day match will be played in Lincoln, New Zealand, between October 24 and October 27, to be followed by the second two-day match between October 31 and November 3 in Christchurch. The third and last two-day match will be played in Lincoln, New Zealand, between November 7 and November 10, 2026.
The series will offer red-ball practice to Indian cricketers in New Zealand in preparation for future international matches.
Pant’s Fitness Remains Under Assessment
Pant’s absence would definitely hurt India A team even more so because of Pant being a wicketkeeper-batter player. But, however, the BCCI hasn’t completely closed down the chance of his participation in the rest of the matches; it remains a possible scenario after he gets through the medical evaluation.
His recovery would be carefully monitored by India since it has some big matches coming up soon. Right now, though, Kushagra’s selection gives the selectors a chance to observe another wicketkeeper-batter playing abroad.
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