Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has been suffering from a side strain since leading Rest of India team against Jammu and Kashmir in Irani Cup 2026 last month.
Published: November 2, 2026, 5:10 PM IST
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Rishabh Pant has failed a fitness Test in CoE on Sunday(Photo: IANS)
India vs New Zealand 2026 Tests: Team India’s fitness woes have been hounding them throughout 2026 season so farBowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep are some of the players who had missed numerous matches due to injuries or fitness issuesWicketkeeper Rishabh Pant can be added to this list and the window to get clearance to play in first Test against New Zealand in Wellington from November 19 is getting smaller by every passing day.
In what will be bad news for Test captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir, Pant has reportedly failed to clear the fitness test at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on SundayThe Delhi Capitals wicketkeeper has already been withdrawn from the squad for third Unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A in Lincoln and now looks highly doubtful for a return for the Wellington Test.
According to a report in Cricinfo website, the 29-year-old wicketkeeper will get another opportunity to prove his fitness to make the flight to New Zealand in time to play in the Test series.
PANT FAILS THE FITNESS TEST
– Rishabh Pant has failed the fitness test on Sunday at the BCCI CoE, but he’ll get another chance before leaving for New Zealand(Cricinfo)https://t.co/cHxzwnn0h8
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 2, 2026
Pant had suffered a side strain while leading the Rest of India squad against reigning Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup 2026 match in Srinagar last monthHe has been at the CoE since October 23 and is believed to have resumed batting and wicketkeeping there.
“The BCCI medical staff will likely arrange another test in the next two days to ascertain Pant’s fitness before clearing him to travel to New ZealandIf cleared, Pant will join the India A squad for the third four-day match against New Zealand A, which starts in Lincoln on November 7, as prep for the Test series,” the Cricinfo report stated.
The BCCI selection committee had included Pant in the India A squad as well as the squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand initially, but stated his availability was subject to fitness clearanceHe was subsequently ruled out of the first two games between India A and New Zealand A.
The selectors had picked the uncapped Kumar Kushagra from Jharkhand for the first two four-dayers against New Zealand A once Pant was ruled out of those games on October 12Kushagra didn’t play, though, with Dhruv Jurel – also the captain of the India A side, keeping wicketJurel is also part of the Test squad.
Pant, who was vice-captain of Indian Test side till earlier this year, has scored 3725 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 43.82 with 8 hundreds and 21 fifties and is the first-ever Indian batter to hit over 100 sixes in the format.
Jasprit Bumrah has departed for New Zealand
But in what will be a major relief for the Team India management, bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has departed for New Zealand on Sunday and is expected to play in third four-day match for India A in LincolnThe Mumbai Indians pace has not played since the Asian Games 2026 final in early October, was at the CoE last week, going through the ‘ready-for-play’ routine before flying out.
Shubman Gill’s side must beat New Zealand 2-0 in the two-match Test series to stand a chance for qualifying for World Test Championships (WTC) final next year.
