Rishabh Pant ruled out of NZ-A vs IND-A 3rd unofficial Test as Jasprit Bumrah joins squad

The Indian wicket-keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, is going to miss the third fixture between New Zealand A and India A in Lincoln, which begins on November 07 as he continues to recover from the side strain. He is currently at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru as there is a massive doubt over his availability in the two-match Test series against the Blackcaps from November 19. 

Both the games of the series so far have ended in draws. The touring A side could have won the opening clash in Lincoln when they found the home side for nine down. But the last wicket partnership of 17 runs in 57 balls denied India A the victory.

Why Rishabh Pant is out and what Bumrah’s arrival means for India A in the 3rd unofficial Test

Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are set to be part of the clash, while the T20I vice-captain, Tilak Varma, has joined the rest of the squad as Pant’s replacement. Bumrah has been training for two days since his arrival in New Zealand, while Jadeja comes on the back of his outing for the Saurashtra side.

Dhruv Jurel will continue to lead the side as they will also have Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad. Jurel is likely to keep wickets if Pant doesn’t recover in time. Prasidh Krishna, meanwhile, is likely to feature in the A-side after his three weeks out with a hamstring strain.

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Mohammad Siraj has joined the ODI squad in Wellington ahead of the second clash after missing the series opener in Auckland. He picked up 4/118 across 35 overs in the only innings he bowled at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

How India A have performed against New Zealand A in the unofficial Test series so far

India A struggled badly with the bat in the first innings of the opening unofficial Test at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. They were bundled out for just 113 before coming back strongly in the second innings, posting 516 runs in the second innings. Devdutt Padikkal nailed 199 runs while three other batters celebrated fifties.

The Blackcaps were bowled out for 317 runs in their first innings as Anshul Kamboj and Auqib Nabi picked up three wickets each. In their second innings, they ended up with 187/9 as the match ended in a draw.

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At the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, India A recorded 346 runs in their first innings with Jurel celebrating a century. NZ-A recorded a lead of 78 runs in their first innings, while the blue brigade, shouldering on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yash Rathod’s centuries, ended up with 282/2 in their second innings.