Rishabh Pant's side strain rules him out of India A's first two matches in New Zealand

Kumar Kushagra has been added to India A's squad for New Zealand after a left side strain ruled Rishabh Pant out of the first two matches of the tour

The BCCI confirmed on Monday that Pant, named in the squad on October 6 subject to fitness, has not recovered in time for the first two of three multi-day matches against New Zealand A. Kushagra, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper, comes in for those two games only.

Pant sustained the strain while captaining Rest of India in the Irani Cup earlier this month. The board said he "remains under the care of the BCCI Medical Team and is recovering well", and that a decision on his availability for the third match "will be taken at a later stage".

The advisory, issued by honorary secretary Devajit Saikia, leaves Dhruv Jurel as captain and first-choice wicketkeeper for a tour that serves as red-ball preparation for India's two Tests in November.

A fitness clause that did not hold

Pant led Rest of India against Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir in the Irani Cup at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar from October 1 to 5, with Sarfaraz Khan as his deputy.

He was picked for the A tour the day after that match ended, his place conditional on fitness. That condition has now decided the first half of the tour for him.

The matches at Lincoln and Christchurch were the obvious route back to red-ball sharpness before the Test series, and he will miss at least two of the three.

Kushagra earns the call on a heavy season

Kushagra, who turns 22 the day before the series starts, made 101 in the Duleep Trophy final in September as East Zone piled up 708 against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

That innings came alongside Ishan Kishan, whose 270 was the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter in the competition's history. East Zone went on to take the title.

The Jharkhand gloveman has a first-class top score of 266, made in his first Ranji Trophy season, and plays for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He is one of four uncapped players in the party, with Ravichandran Smaran, Yash Rathod and Mukesh Choudhary.

A squad that thins out mid-series

Jurel leads for the whole tour. The second and third matches overlap with India's one-day internationals on November 4, 7 and 10, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar are expected to be pulled away to the senior side.

That would leave the top order to Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Ravichandran Smaran and Rathod for the back half of the series.

The attack is built around Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, with Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi and Mukesh Choudhary as the other seamers and Manav Suthar the specialist spinner.

Why the A matches carry weight this year

India's tour runs from October 22 to December 1 and takes in five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests. The first Test is at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from November 19 to 23, the second at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from November 27 to December 1.

The A side's three fixtures, starting on October 24 at Lincoln, then October 31 at Christchurch and November 7 at Lincoln, are the only first-class cricket available to the touring group before the Tests begin.

India have yet to name their Test squad for the tour, having so far announced only the T20I and India A parties.

What it means for Pant

The third A match finishes on November 10, nine days before the Test series starts in Wellington.

Passed fit, Pant has one red-ball outing to work with. Ruled out again, he would arrive at the Basin Reserve without a first-class innings since Srinagar.

India A begin the series against New Zealand A at Lincoln on October 24.

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