Rishabh Pant nears clearance for the Wellington Test after two days of simulation

Rishabh Pant is expected to be cleared to join India's Test squad in New Zealand on Thursday after completing a two-day match simulation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru

India's first-choice wicketkeeper has not played since a side strain cut short his Irani Cup appearance for Rest of India, and the second and final round of simulated match play was scheduled for Wednesday. "Pant is completely fit," a BCCI source told PTI on Tuesday.

If the medical staff sign off, Pant is due to fly to Wellington on Thursday, a week before the first Test begins at the Basin Reserve on 19 November.

His place in the 16-man squad named last month was the only one made subject to fitness clearance, and the wait has run almost to the eve of the tour.

Three matches lost to a side strain

Pant picked up the injury while leading Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup in Srinagar, and has spent the weeks since under the supervision of the BCCI medical team in Bengaluru.

Without a Return to Play certificate from the Centre of Excellence he could not be considered for India A's three unofficial Tests in New Zealand, the tour's designated red-ball preparation. He was named for one of them subject to fitness but played none.

The last of those matches, which began in Lincoln on 7 November, ended in a draw. It leaves Pant set to arrive in New Zealand without a competitive innings since the Irani Cup in October.

Two rounds at the Centre of Excellence

The simulation is built to put a wicketkeeper through the demands of a Test day rather than a net session — long spells behind the stumps as well as time batting.

The first round was held on Tuesday. "There is one round (of simulation) scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday)," the BCCI source told PTI, with the medical staff's verdict expected on 12 November.

Clearance on that timeline would put Pant on a flight the same day, giving him six days in New Zealand before the first Test.

A squad that kept his place open

India named 16 players for the two Tests, with Shubman Gill captaining and Jasprit Bumrah returning to the red-ball side after missing the Sri Lanka series.

Dhruv Jurel is the squad's other wicketkeeper and would take the gloves if Pant is held back. The batting group also carries Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav are the frontline spin options alongside Ravindra Jadeja, with Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Anshul Kamboj completing the seam attack.

What India get back

Pant, 29, has played 52 Tests for India, with eight centuries and 21 half-centuries at an average above 43.

He has Test hundreds in Australia, England and South Africa, and was part of India's last Test tour of New Zealand in 2020 — experience few in this squad can match on these grounds.

A one-day series still running

The Test camp is assembling while the white-ball series is still live. India lead the one-day internationals 2-0 with two to play, the third having been washed out in Hamilton.

Gill and Rahul have moved across to the Test group, leaving Shreyas Iyer to captain India in the remaining one-dayers.

Both Tests count towards the 2025-27 World Test Championship, which India are chasing a place in the final of.

The first Test starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 19 November, with the second at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 27 November.