With Rishabh Pant set to miss out the first two matches of the India A tour of New Zealand, Jharkhand keeper-batter Kumar Kushagra will replace the senior star, the BCCI announced on Monday.
Pant, who was leading the Rest of India squad in the Irani Cup, sustained a left-side strain and has been ruled out of the first two matches. His fitness for the tour was subject to fitness but it remains to be seen how soon he gets back on the field.
As things stand, he is under the care of the BCCI medical team and is recovering well. A decision on his availability for the third match will be taken at a later stage, the BCCI said in a statement. Pant's injury appears to be more serious than it initially seemed.
The men's selection committee has named Kushagra as Pant's replacement for the first two matches. India A will be led by Dhruv Jurel, who will also take up the wicketkeeping duties. The squad includes senior players Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar, along with Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan.
India A squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel (captain and wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar and Kumar Kushagra (first and second matches).