New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) In what is a huge boost for the Indian team, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is on his way to New Zealand and is set to join India’s Test squad in Wellington on Friday.

IANS understands that Pant got the clearance from the concerned medical team after an extended rehab programme at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and flew out early on Thursday.

“He left for New Zealand this morning and is expected to reach there via a connecting flight from Singapore. As of now, we believe he’s left Singapore also and is expected to reach Wellington by early morning New Zealand time and wee hours, as per Indian Standard Time,” said a source to IANS.

Pant picked up the side strain injury while captaining Rest of India (RoI) in the Irani Cup held in Srinagar from October 1 to 4. He reported to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru in the last week of October, where he worked on his recovery and all aspects of his game in several sessions.

Pant was already named in India’s Test squad for the tour, as well as in the India A side for three four-day matches against New Zealand A. But his availability was subjected to full fitness, something which was under huge uncertainty.

Though Pant’s recovery was going well, the slow nature of it meant that the fitness clearance took longer than expected to come. He missed the first two India A games and was initially expected to play in the third game from November 7 to 10 in Lincoln. But with his recovery taking time, Pant had to miss that match.

In Wellington, Pant will meet up with captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj, who were released from the ODI squad after the third game to start preparing for the two-game Test series.

Pant’s arrival, however, gives the team management a selection headache. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who captained India A, made a strong case for inclusion in the playing eleven with a century and a fifty in four innings against New Zealand A.

Add to it, top-order batters B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal have also been proficient. Sudharsan returned with scores of 91 and 88 in five India A innings, while Padikkal hit 199 and 80 in standout knocks from as many outings.

Plenty is riding on the Test series to be played in Wellington and Christchurch for Shubman Gill & Co. India are fourth in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings and need victories to stay in the race for the final, to be played in June 2027. 2021 winners New Zealand sit at the top of the table, ahead of current holders South Africa and 2023 winners Australia.

–IANS

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