Rishabh Pant Declared Fit, Joins India Test Squad in Wellington: Pant or Jurel for the NZ Tests?

Rishabh Pant is fit and on his way to New Zealand. The wicketkeeper-batter has been given fitness clearance by the BCCI medical staff and left India early on Thursday, 12 November, to join the Test squad in Wellington ahead of the two-match series that begins on 19 November.

What happened to Pant?

Pant suffered a side strain while captaining Rest of India in the Irani Cup in Srinagar (1–4 October). He began rehab at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on 23 October. He was named in India's Test squad for the tour, and in the India A squad for the three four-day games against New Zealand A, but both selections were subject to fitness.

He missed all three India A games. The original plan was for him to fly out in time for the third one (7–10 November), but the medical team wanted more time with him at the CoE. According to reports, he completed fitness and match-simulation assessments on 10 and 11 November before getting the green light. We covered the earlier delay in our report on Pant missing the third India A game.

India's Test schedule in New Zealand

• 1st Test: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 19–23 November 2026
• 2nd Test: Christchurch, 27 November – 1 December 2026

Captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj have already left the ODI squad to prepare for the Tests in Wellington. Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav, who are in both squads, stayed back for the last two ODIs at Bay Oval, where Shreyas Iyer is captaining the side.

The big question: Pant, Jurel, or both?

Pant's late arrival creates a pleasant headache for the team management. Dhruv Jurel, who led India A against New Zealand A, made a hundred and a half-century in four innings in that series. Two other batters also made strong cases:

• Devdutt Padikkal: 199 and 80 in five innings against NZ A
• B Sai Sudharsan: 91 and 88 in five innings against NZ A

India can play both Pant and Dhruv Jurel, with Jurel as a specialist batter, or pick one keeper and go with both Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan. Pant is India's first-choice Test keeper when fit, so the more likely debate is between Jurel and the extra top-order batter.

India's Test squad for New Zealand

Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

Why this series matters

Both Tests are part of the World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle. India are currently fourth in the standings, while New Zealand are on top, followed by South Africa and Australia. Read our explainer on India's WTC qualification scenario and the New Zealand Test squad for the series. Pant's career numbers are on his player profile.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today, Business Standard.