Will Rishabh Pant feature in New Zealand Tests? Check out
What's the story
Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has received fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and will soon be flying to New Zealand. The approval comes as a major relief for Shubman Gill and the entire Indian Test team. Pant had sustained a side strain while leading the Rest of India team in the Irani Cup in early October.
Recovery process
Pant passes two fitness tests
After injuring himself, Pant underwent two fitness and simulation tests on November 10 and 11. He was rehabilitating at CoE during this period.
Although he missed three unofficial Tests for India A, the wicketkeeper-batter has now regained full fitness just in time for the impending two-match Test series against New Zealand.
Pant has been India's match-winner in Tests, with 3,725 runs from 52 matches at 43.82 under his belt.
Upcoming matches
Schedule of Test series
The first Test of the two-match series will be played in Wellington from November 19.
The second Test will take place in Christchurch from November 27.
Captain Shubman Gill, batter KL Rahul, and seamer Anshul Kamboj have already joined the Test squad in Wellington after leaving the ongoing ODI series midway.
Training sessions
India A played NZ A in Lincoln
Several of India's Test specialists, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja, played an unofficial Test against New Zealand A in Lincoln.
The match was aimed at helping them adjust to the local conditions.
The training sessions in Wellington were supervised by bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak.
Team strategy
What about Dhruv Jurel?
With Pant's return, a selection conundrum looms over the team management as Dhruv Jurel has made a strong case for himself during the unofficial Test series against New Zealand A.
Jurel has been part of India's Playing XI with Pant in their last few Tests.
However, it remains to be seen if he will play as a specialist batter if Pant is picked as the first-choice wicket-keeper.