Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two matches of India A's tour of New Zealand as he continues to recover from a left-side strain sustained while leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup. The wicketkeeper-batter remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team, with a decision on his availability for the third match to be taken at a later stage.
The Men’s Selection Committee has named Kumar Kushagra as Pant’s replacement for the first two matches.
India A are set to tour New Zealand for a three-match unofficial Test series from October 24 to November 10. The matches are scheduled to be played in Lincoln and Christchurch.
The squad features several players with senior international experience, including KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar. Their presence should strengthen the batting and bowling units as India A prepare for a challenging assignment overseas.
India A’s updated 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, Kumar Kushagra [WK] (1st and 2nd matches).