Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two unofficial Tests between India A and New Zealand, starting October 24. Kumar Kushagra has been named as his replacement for the opening two matches.
???? News ???? Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two India A matches against New Zealand A. Kumar Kushagra has been named as his replacement in the squad. More Details ▶️ https://t.co/GlNfm5b5or #NZAvINDA
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2026
Pant had sustained a left side strain while leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup.
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Pant recently led Rest of India to the Irani Cup title against Jammu and Kashmir. However, he had a modest outing with the bat in the match, where he managed to get just 18 runs in the match.
Kushagra will join an India A squad that includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan. Dhruv Jurel has been named captain and wicketkeeper for the series.
The first unofficial Test will be played at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. The second match is scheduled to take place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, before the teams return to Lincoln for the third and final fixture.
India A's Updated Squad
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel (captain and wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar and Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper, first and second matches).
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