Pant Ruled Out of First Two India A Games in New Zealand; Kushagra Named Replacement

India A's tour of New Zealand has suffered an early setback after Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the opening two four-day matches against New Zealand A. The BCCI confirmed on Monday that the 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batter picked up a left-side strain while captaining Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup at Srinagar, a match in which he also battled a viral fever. Pant remains under the supervision of the BCCI medical team and is recovering well, the board said, with a decision on his availability for the third match to be taken at a later stage. His selection for the shadow tour had already been subject to a fitness clearance. The selectors have called up 21-year-old Kumar Kushagra as his replacement for the first two games. The Jharkhand keeper, who plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, has forced his way into contention with a strong run of red-ball form — 2,507 runs in 38 first-class matches, including a century in the Duleep Trophy final for East Zone and 113 against Australia A in Puducherry. Dhruv Jurel captains the side and is expected to take the gloves for the opening games, with Kushagra providing a second option behind the stumps.