Rishabh Pant ruled out of first two India A vs New Zealand A unofficial Tests

FILE PHOTO: Rishabh Pant recently led Rest of India to the Irani Cup title. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two unofficial Tests of the three-match series between India A and New Zealand starting October 24.

“The wicketkeeper-batter had sustained a left side strain while leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup. He remains under the care of the BCCI Medical Team and is recovering well. A decision on his availability for the third match will be taken at a later stage,” the BCCI said in a statement.

Kumar Kushagra has been named as the India international’s replacement.

Pant recently led Rest of India to the Irani Cup title. Against Jammu and Kashmir, he managed to amass only 18 runs in the match.

The first unofficial Test will take place at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. Then, the series will move to the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, before returning to Lincoln for the third match.

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).