Rishabh Pant is on course to join India’s Test squad in New Zealand, with his final fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence expected on November 12 after two days of match simulation drills in Bengaluru.
Pant has been out of international cricket since the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, after suffering a side strain while captaining Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup in Srinagar. He was initially named in the India A squad for the unofficial Test series against New Zealand A, subject to fitness, but he failed to obtain the mandatory Return to Play certificate from the Centre of Excellence and was withdrawn from the squad. He has been undergoing rehabilitation at the facility since October 23, after failing his first fitness test on November 1, and his workload has been increased gradually as he prepares for a return.
“Pant is completely fit. He is undergoing the match simulation drills at the CoE today and there is one round (of simulation) scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday),” a BCCI source told PTI. “Upon successful completion of both rounds, Pant will then leave for Wellington on November 12.” The two simulation sessions, on November 10 and 11, are the final step before the medical assessment, and sources say he has looked comfortable in productive batting and wicketkeeping sessions at the Centre of Excellence.
If cleared, Pant is expected to reach New Zealand well ahead of the first Test, which begins at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on November 19, with the second and final Test in Christchurch from November 27. His return would be a timely boost for India, who have already seen Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Anshul Kamboj, Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav move from the ODI squad to the Test camp in Wellington. The selectors had named Pant in the Test squad subject to fitness, and his clearance would also settle the wicketkeeping question that has hung over the squad since his injury. Dhruv Jurel, who kept wicket and made 71 in the drawn third unofficial Test in Lincoln, would take the gloves if Pant is not cleared to keep.
Pant has extra motivation for the series. He needs 52 more runs to become the first Indian batter to complete 3,000 runs in World Test Championship history, and he is yet to score a half-century in Tests on New Zealand soil. For now, though, the focus is on the two simulation sessions in Bengaluru, and on the clearance that would put him on the flight to Wellington.
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