Team India is set to receive a major boost for their Test series against New Zealand, with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant likely to receive a final fitness clearance. As per reports, Pant has stepped
up his recovery, and will get his fitness clearance on Thursday, November 12. If things go as expected, he will fly to New Zealand on Thursday and will join the squad directly ahead of the first Test.
Notably, Pant had failed his first fitness test at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on November 1, and was given another opportunity to prove his readiness. The left-handed batter has been away from competitive cricket since sustaining a left-side strain while leading the Rest of India in the Irani Cup in early October.
This forced him to sit out of the first two four-day matches between India A and New Zealand A. Since then, Pant has been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence since October 23.
🚨 GOOD NEWS FOR TEAM INDIA 🇮🇳
– Pant set to fly to New Zealand on November 12th for the Test series. [Subhayan Chakraborty]
He will have one final match simulation which he is expected to be clear. https://t.co/D9o1WN5HGJ
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 10, 2026
Rishabh Pant set to receive medical clearance in major boost to team India- Reports
As per reports by India Today, Pant is now set to receive his medical clearance considering he has progressed well and the workload is slowly being increased. He was also set to undergo two match simulations on November 10 and 11. If they go as planned, and the assessment is satisfactory, the COE will issue the clearance certificate for Pant and he will head to New Zealand for the first Test.
Pant’s last international game came during the second Test against Sri Lanka. He was also India’s Test squad member during the previous tour of the country in 2020. Pant has played 52 Test matches, having accumulated over 3,000 runs, including eight hundreds and 21 fifties at an average of more than 43.
