Rishabh Pant injury update: India wicket-keeper out of IND A vs NZ A 3rd unofficial Test, doubtful for 1st Test - Report

Rishabh Pant injury update: India wicket-keeper out of IND A vs NZ A 3rd unofficial Test, doubtful for 1st Test - Report originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Rishabh Pant suffered a wrist and shoulder injury during the Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year. India star led Rest of India in the Irani Cup last month.Pant suffered an injury in the final of the Irani Cup 2026.Indian wicketkeeper is out of the 3rd unofficial Test match against New Zealand A and doubtful for the 1st Test match in Wellington. Rishabh Pant injury update: India wicketkeeper's current fitness statusRishabh Pant's misfortune with injuries in the Test format is nothing new and has constantly affected the Indian wicketkeeper throughout his career. During the 2nd and final Test of the Sri Lanka series in Colombo earlier this year,  Pant was once again forced to walk off the pitch, retired hurt, in the final session of Day 1.The 29-year-old was batting on 3 runs and had faced only 15 balls when he tried to pull Lahiru Kamara's first delivery of the 58th over behind square. The southpaw failed to time his shot properly as the ball hit his left forearm, just below the wrist. Pant was visibly in pain as he received immediate medical attention on the pitch before he followed the physio off the ground. Pant eventually came out to bat and scored 63 runs in that innings, however, since then he remained out of action, nursing his injury until last month, when he took to the pitch for Rest of India in the Irani Cup 2026 final.The southpaw captained the ROI side and helped them clinch a 167-run win over reigning Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir. However, during the match, Pant picked up another injury and is currently recovering from it, according to journalist Abhishek Tripathi. The report adds that Pant is currently not feeling any pain and there are no symptoms of the injury. In fact, the wicketkeeper has resumed skill training and is on the way to full recovery.MORE: What India need to do to qualify for the WTC Final (getty) Pant ruled out of warm-up game, doubtful for 1st Test vs New Zealand in WellingtonAbhishek Tripathi also claims that while Pant is close to returning to action, as a precautionary measure, the Indian team management has decided to drop him from the third and final warm-up Test against New Zealand A, which starts on November 7.Initially, it was reported that Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are all set to play the unofficial Test for India A as their preparation for the Test series of the ongoing tour of New Zealand, however, the current report states that Pant will not be a part of the game.The report also claims that not only is the Delhi Capitals star out of the warm-up match, but he is also doubtful for the first Test in Wellington, which starts on November 19.Pant's participation in Wellington is subject to his fitness status and the management will take a final call just before the start of the match. MORE: 'This too shall pass': Rutherford evokes Kohli memory with X post on Babar Creimas/BCCI Dhruv Jurel's form concerning for Rishabh Pant?Other than his injury concern, Pant will also feel the pressure of getting picked in the Indian Test side as fellow wicketkeeper batter, Dhruv Jurel is enjoying the form of his life in red-ball cricket since the Sri Lanka tour.Both Pant and Jurel were part of the India team in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August. While Pant completed his fifty despite the injury, Jurel went on to score a brilliant century that took India's score past the 400-run mark.Jurel has since then consistently performed and is currently leading the India A team in the second unofficial test match against New Zealand A. In fact, the keeper-batter scored a century in the first innings and is now a strong contender to start for India in the first Test in Wellington.Pant will hope to regain full fitness as soon as possible to get picked for the 1st Test as competition for the keeper-batter role in the Indian Test team is extremely intense at the moment. To keep up to date with all the latest cricket news and share your opinion on the biggest topics, visit ourFacebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) pages.