Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant likely for India A’s third unofficial Test in Lincoln on Nov 7

Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant are likely to feature in India A’s third unofficial Test against New Zealand A, a four-day match scheduled to begin on November 7 in Lincoln. Both players have been training at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru as they prepare for the tour, a report in Cricinfo said.

Bumrah arrived at the CoE on Monday, while Pant reported to the facility on Friday. The pacer’s visit forms part of the mandatory return-to-play protocols that players must complete before joining the national team for a series, according to the report. The match is being viewed as part of the players’ preparations ahead of India’s upcoming red-ball assignments.

Bumrah last represented India at the Asian Games in Japan earlier this month, where the team won the gold medal. He was subsequently rested for India’s home white-ball series against the West Indies. He did not feature in the ongoing T20I and ODI matches against New Zealand.

Pant suffered a side strain while captaining Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup in early October. That injury forced him to miss Delhi’s Ranji Trophy opener. He also missed the first two four-day matches against New Zealand A.

Pant has resumed light training at the CoE, including batting drills, but has yet to restart wicketkeeping practice. His participation in the third unofficial Test will depend on fitness clearance from the BCCI medical staff. Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra was drafted into the India A setup for the first two matches in Pant’s absence and was also named as cover for Ishan Kishan after Kishan sustained a right adductor strain during the ongoing T20I series.

Both Bumrah and Pant are included in India’s squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand.

The two-Test series opens in Wellington from November 19 to 23, with the second Test in Christchurch from November 27 to December 1; the India A four-day fixture in Lincoln on November 7 sits on the calendar ahead of those matches.