Rishabh Pant was declared fit on 12 November 2026 and will be available for selection for the first Test, seven days before it begins in Wellington.
India begin at Basin Reserve on 19 November with their first-choice wicketkeeper-batter short of match practice, while stand-in Dhruv Jurel, who scored heavily for India A on the same tour, is pressing for a place. Three batting milestones are within Pant's reach. He has 2,948 runs in 42 World Test Championship matches; another 52 would make him the first Indian to 3,000. He is 24 runs from Adam Gilchrist's 2,512 in away Tests as a wicketkeeper-batter, and 163 from the record for a designated keeper across away and neutral Tests.
According to reports, Pant left on the morning of Thursday, 12 November and is due in New Zealand via Singapore.
He completed the final of several match simulations at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on 10 November. An initial fitness test at the same centre on 1 November had gone against him, with fresh assessments, including further simulations, scheduled.
The wicketkeeper-batter arrived at the centre on 23 October and had been there for more than two weeks.
- 23 OctoberWork begins
Pant arrives at the BCCI Centre of Excellence to start his rehabilitation.
- 1 NovemberFirst fitness test
An initial assessment at the centre goes against him.
- 10 NovemberFinal simulation
The last of a series of match simulation exercises is cleared.
- 12 NovemberDeclared fit
He is passed fit and leaves for New Zealand via Singapore.
- 19 NovemberFirst Test
India meet New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
A side strain in the Irani Cup
He sustained the side strain while playing for Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir, the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy winners, in the Irani Cup in Srinagar in October.
The injury cost him his place in India's A squad for three unofficial Tests in New Zealand. Pant was included when the Test squad for the two matches was named, but his participation was subject to fitness clearance.
The first Test runs from 19 to 23 November at Basin Reserve. The second runs from 27 November to 1 December at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Three records within reach
At 29, Pant has played 52 Tests and remains India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter. He is expected to keep wickets at Basin Reserve.
| Record in reach | Runs needed | The mark |
|---|---|---|
| 3,000 World Test Championship runs | 52 | Would make him the first Indian to reach it; he has 2,948 in 42 matches |
| Most away runs by a wicketkeeper-batter | 24 | Adam Gilchrist made 2,512 in 38 away Tests for Australia |
| Most away runs by a designated keeper, away and neutral | 163 | Would be his across the two matches of this series |
His only previous tour of New Zealand, in 2020, produced four innings and no score above 25.
Jurel waits, with no warm-up match
The two candidates for the gloves
Rishabh Pant
29 years old, 52 Tests
- First-choice wicketkeeper-batter
- Expected to keep at Basin Reserve
- Four innings, none above 25, in New Zealand in 2020
- No practice match before the first Test
Dhruv Jurel
India A captain
- Century in the second unofficial Test
- Half-century in the third
- Four innings, a century and a fifty
- Keeps wicket if Pant is rested
If the team management rests Pant in Wellington, Jurel will be the wicketkeeper-batter.
Jurel captained India A through three unofficial Tests against New Zealand A from 24 October to 10 November, making a century in the second match and a half-century in the third. That return, across four innings, has complicated the selectors' thinking.
The team has found ways to fit both wicketkeeper-batters into one XI in recent Test assignments, with Jurel playing alongside Pant.
Because the tour carries no practice match, the management needs a plan to acclimatise Pant to New Zealand conditions.
The rest of the squad is already in Wellington
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Jurel, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja played a New Zealand A unofficial Test in Lincoln to get used to the conditions. Captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj left the one-day international series midway to join the Test squad.
Under bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak, Test specialists began training in Wellington on 12 November.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir stays with the one-day squad for the final two matches. Shreyas Iyer leads in Gill's absence, with India 2-0 up in the three-match series.
What we know
- Pant was declared fit on 12 November 2026 and is available for selection for the first Test.
- He has 2,948 runs in 42 World Test Championship matches and 2,489 in 35 away Tests.
- The first Test begins on 19 November 2026 at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Still unclear
- Whether Pant is picked or rested for the first Test.
- Whether Jurel plays as a specialist batter alongside him.
- How the management will acclimatise Pant without a practice match.
The next decision point is selection for the opening Test. It begins on 19 November 2026 at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
