New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will have the chance to prove his fitness once more as the batter is set to undertake another test before he can leave for New Zealand ahead of the Test series.
Pant suffered a side strain during the Irani Cup match while leading Rest of India and Jammu and Kashmir. He has been at the BCCI CoE for around 10 days and failed a fitness test on Sunday.
As per a report in Cricinfo, he will take another fitness test in two days before he is cleared to play in New Zealand. If he manages to clear the test this time around, he will be joining the Indian A side for the third multi-day game against New Zealand A, which begins on November 7 in Lincoln.
Pant was named in India A's squad for the three four-day games, which were preparatory matches for the visiting side. However, his availability was subject to fitness clearance. The wicketkeeper batter was ruled out of the first two matches due to his recovery, with Kumar Kushagra named his replacement. Captain Dhruv Jurel kept the wickets in the first two matches as Kushagra did not get to play.
Pant was also named in India's squads for the two-match Test series against the Blackcaps, which begins on November 19; however, his participation in the series was also subject to fitness clearance.
The same report also added that India speedster Jasprit Bumrah has left for New Zealand and is likely to play the third multi-day game against New Zealand A to prepare for the Test series. Bumrah was rested for India's white-ball series against the West Indies at home and the away T20I and ODI series against New Zealand.
This was due to the BCCI wanting to keep their talisman pacer in a cotton wool ahead of the New Zealand Test series, which is considered to be an important one for India's chances for the World Test Championship final.
He has not played an international since the Asian Games final, where India opted to send their full-strength side. He was training at the BCCI CoE last week ahead of a ready-for-play routine before leaving for New Zealand.
--IANS
vm/hs
