BREAKING: India star fails fitness test ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 Test series - Reports

Rishabh Pant on Sunday, November 1, failed a fitness test at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, putting his place in India's Test squad for New Zealand in doubt. ESPNcricinfo reported that the BCCI medical staff want a second assessment within two days before deciding whether he can fly out.

Pant has been at the CoE since October 23 and is understood to have resumed batting and wicketkeeping. The 29-year-old picked up a left-side strain at the 2026 Irani Cup, where he captained Rest of India against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar early October.

Pant was named in the 16-man squad on October 16, subject to fitness. Ruled out of the first two four-day games for India A on October 12, the left-hander was replaced in that squad by Kumar Kushagra, with Dhruv Jurel taking the gloves. It is understood that Pant would miss the third game also from November 7, the fixture meant to give him red-ball time before the first Test.

Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, has already landed in New Zealand and is expected to play at Lincoln.

How has Rishabh Pant fared ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 Tests?

Rishabh Pant's last international was the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August 2026. Hit on the left arm by a Lahiru Kumara bouncer, he retired hurt on 3 off 15, then returned on Day 2 to make 63 off 89 balls in a 112-run seventh-wicket stand with Dhruv Jurel. Pant went past MS Dhoni's 2,496 runs as India's leading wicketkeeper run-scorer away from home, reaching 2,534 at 41.54, and past Shubman Gill as the country's top scorer in the World Test Championship.

The Irani Cup was quieter: 10 off 36 at No. 5 in the first innings, 8 off 18 in the second, and no keeping in Jammu & Kashmir's chase. He missed Day 3 with a fever, and Rest of India still won by 167 runs.

Rishabh Pant has endured a stop-start year: a right-sided abdominal oblique tear before the home ODIs against New Zealand, an elbow blow while batting for Lucknow in the IPL, then the Colombo knock. He has not played an ODI since 2024.

India's squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Prasidh Krishna and Sai Sudharsan, with Pant and Prasidh subject to fitness clearance.

The first Test is in Wellington from November 19 to 23, the second in Christchurch from November 27 to December 1.

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