Rishabh Pant Out of India A vs NZ A 3rd Unofficial Test; Bumrah and Jadeja Join, Tilak Replaces Him

Pant stays in Bengaluru as Lincoln game begins

Rishabh Pant will miss the third and final four-day unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A at Lincoln, starting Saturday 7 November 2026. He is recovering from a side strain at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and has already sat out the first two A fixtures of the tour.

ESPNcricinfo reported the update on 5 November; Hindustan Times and News18 carried matching detail on 6 November. Pant’s availability for India’s two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts on 19 November at Basin Reserve, Wellington, remains subject to a return-to-play clearance and is now under clearer doubt after he skipped the entire A red-ball window.

He last played India red-ball cricket in the August series against Sri Lanka and suffered the side strain during the Irani Cup in early October before reporting to the CoE on 23 October.

Bumrah and Jadeja step into the A XI for Test prep

Among the Test specialists, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are both set to feature in the Lincoln match as preparation for the Tests.

• Bumrah has trained with the A squad for two days since arriving in New Zealand. He last played in the Asian Games final on 3 October and was held back from the ongoing ODI series for red-ball workload management.
• Jadeja arrives after two Ranji Trophy outings for Saurashtra in which he took a combined seven wickets and scored a century.
• Prasidh Krishna is also likely to play as he rebuilds match fitness after roughly three weeks of rehab for a hamstring strain. He was cleared for all formats but kept out of the ODI squad so he stays ready for the Tests; Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi took his ODI place.

Business Standard’s 6 November report framed the Lincoln game as valuable middle time before Wellington and Christchurch Tests.

Tilak Varma replaces Pant; Jurel keeps leading

India T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma has joined the India A squad in Lincoln as Pant’s replacement. Dhruv Jurel continues to captain the side and is the likely Test wicketkeeper if Pant is not cleared in time. Seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, released from the ODI group after the Auckland opener, is also expected to get red-ball overs.

Cover Drive’s earlier note on Tilak’s white-ball leadership track is here: India A Rising Stars Asia Cup squad.

Parallel track: Siraj rejoins the ODI group in Wellington

Separately, Mohammed Siraj has linked up with India’s ODI squad in Wellington ahead of the 2nd ODI on 7 November after bowling 4 for 118 from 35 overs in the drawn second unofficial Test at Hagley Oval. He missed the rain-hit 1st ODI win in Auckland. Whether he displaces Auqib Nabi is a selection call for the match day — see our Wellington preview for venue and Conway context.

Shubman Gill will not play the Lincoln red-ball game because it clashes with the 2nd and 3rd ODIs; he is expected to leave the ODI group after the Hamilton match to prepare for the Tests.

Why this matters for India’s WTC path

India have not won a Test series in New Zealand since 2008-09 and were beaten 2-0 on the 2020 tour. Only Gill, Bumrah, Pant and Jadeja from that squad are in the current Test group. With limited room on the WTC 2025-27 table, ideally winning both Tests is the path India want toward the June 2027 final.

The first two India A–NZ A four-dayers ended in draws. Lincoln is therefore the last red-ball dress rehearsal before Wellington — with Pant watching from Bengaluru rather than keeping.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo (Shashank Kishore, 5 Nov 2026) on Pant missing Lincoln, Bumrah/Jadeja joining, Tilak replacement, Jurel leadership, Prasidh rehab, Siraj’s 4 for 118 and ODI link-up; Hindustan Times / News18 / Business Standard (6 Nov 2026) corroborating Test-prep framing and CoE rehab detail.