Pant is still in rehab in Bengaluru, and Bumrah and Jadeja will play India A’s last game in Lincoln
Tilak Varma has joined India A in Pant’s place, with the first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve two weeks away.
Nov 5, 2026
Rishabh Pant will not play India A’s last red-ball game in New Zealand. He is still in rehab for a side strain at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and the first Test at the Basin Reserve starts on 19 November, two weeks from Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja will play instead. Both are set to turn out for India A in the third unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Lincoln, which starts on Saturday, and Tilak Varma has joined the squad in Pant’s place.
Pant’s Test place is now in doubt
Pant picked up the left-side strain in the Irani Cup in Srinagar, playing for Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir. Kumar Kushagra replaced him for the first two A games. The plan was for Pant to get time in the middle at Lincoln before the Tests, and that is gone.
If he is not fit for Wellington, Dhruv Jurel is likely to keep wicket. Jurel has captained India A through both drawn games on this tour, so he at least knows the conditions.
Bumrah and Jadeja get a first-class game
Bumrah is already with the A squad. Jadeja comes in from the Ranji Trophy, where he played two games for Saurashtra and made 102 against Chhattisgarh in Rajkot. A first-class game on a New Zealand pitch before Wellington is common sense for both.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, part of the ODI squad until Wednesday, also joins the A side. So may Prasidh Krishna, who hurt his hamstring in the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati. Auqib Nabi replaced him for the first three ODIs, and Cricinfo reports that India held Prasidh back from the one-day games to keep him fit for the Tests.
Mohammed Siraj goes the other way. He missed the first ODI in Auckland after bowling 35 overs for 4 for 118 in the drawn second A game at Hagley Oval, and he is now with the ODI squad in Wellington for Saturday’s second match. Shubman Gill will not play at Lincoln because it clashes with the second and third ODIs. According to Cricinfo, he will leave the ODI squad after the third, in Hamilton on 10 November, to get ready for the Tests.
Six years since the last tour
India have not played a Test series in New Zealand since 2020, when they lost both matches, by ten wickets in Wellington and seven in Christchurch. Only four of that squad are named for this series: Gill, Bumrah, Pant and Jadeja. If Pant cannot make it, that number drops to three.
The World Test Championship table adds to the pressure. India probably need to win both Tests to have a real chance of reaching the final in June 2027, and they would rather not try it without their first-choice keeper.