{ "id": "205955", "author": "23", "cnmid": "1407018", "title": "Injured Pant Ruled Out Of India A's First Two Games Against New Zealand A; Kushagra Named Replacement", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "2026", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia: Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of India A\u2019s first two matches on the upcoming tour of New Zealand due to a left-side strain, with young keeper-batter Kumar Kushagra named as his replacement in the updated squad, the BCCI announced on Monday.", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia:<\/strong>  Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of India A’s first two matches on the upcoming tour of New Zealand due to a left-side strain, with young keeper-batter Kumar Kushagra named as his replacement in the updated squad, the BCCI announced on Monday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Pant, whose availability for the tour was subject to fitness after catching viral fever while leading the rest of India in the Irani Cup clash against Ranji Trophy winners Jammu & Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia said Pant, 29, remains under the medical team’s supervision, with a final call on his participation in the third match starting on October 7 in Lincoln to be taken later. "He remains under the care of the BCCI Medical Team and is recovering well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

“A decision on his availability for the third match will be taken at a later stage. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Kumar Kushagra as Pant’s replacement for the first two matches,” added Saikia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kushagra, the 21-year-old Jharkhand keeper-batter, will join the Dhruv Jurel-led squad for India A's red-ball shadow tour alongside international stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul, Auqib Nabi, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Manav Suthar, and Washington Sundar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kushagra is coming on the back of a good run in India A red-ball games against Australia A in Puducherry. He amassed scores of 113 and 46 to give India A a victory in the first game, while making 10 and 1 in the second clash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The shadow 'A' series holds immense significance for both sides as a critical warm-up series ahead of the two-game Test series to be played in Wellington and Christchurch, which carries major implications in terms of entering the World Test Championship (WTC) final.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kushagra is coming on the back of a good run in India A red-ball games against Australia A in Puducherry. He amassed scores of 113 and 46 to give India A a victory in the first game, while making 10 and 1 in the second clash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/strong> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Article Source: IANS<\/a><\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/10\/injured-pant-ruled-out-of-india-as-first-two-games-against-nz-kushagra-named-replacement.jpg", "alt_img": "Injured Pant Ruled Out Of India As First Two Games Against New Zealand A; Kushagra Named Replacement", "alt_title": "Injured Pant Ruled Out Of India As First Two Games Against New Zealand A; Kushagra Named Replacement", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Injured Pant Ruled Out Of India A's First Two Games Against New Zealand A; Kushagra Named Replacement On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Injured Pant Ruled Out Of India A's First Two Games Against NZ; Kushagra Named Replacement, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia: Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of India A\u2019s first two matches on the upcoming.", "seo_keywords": "Rishabh Pant, Kumar Kushagra", "tag": "", "tagging": "Rishabh Pant,Kumar Kushagra", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "injured-pant-ruled-out-of-india-as-first-two-games-against-nz-kushagra-named-replacement", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "27", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-10-12 20:14:02", "updated": "2026-10-12 21:55:29", "img_from": "Srinagar: Rishabh Pant addresses press conference ahead of Irani Cup", "img_source": "Image Source: IANS", "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Rishabh Pant, Kumar Kushagra", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "13", "jio_date": "2026-10-12 21:55:29", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": "2026-10-12 21:55:29", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": "Latest Cricket News", "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/injured-pant-ruled-out-of-india-as-first-two-games-against-nz-kushagra-named-replacement-205955" }