Sports · Cricket · 7 hrs ago
Injuries delay India squad selection for New Zealand tour
India has not yet named its ODI and Test squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour as selectors wait for updates on three players’ fitness.
Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna left an ODI against West Indies on September 30 after discomfort in his left hamstring, and he has been given three weeks to recover.
All-rounder Harshit Rana has been at the Centre of Excellence since July and is expected to take part in a return-to-play match simulation.
Rishabh Pant will miss India A’s first two four-day matches after picking up a side strain in the Irani Cup; he had wanted those games to regain his rhythm before the Tests.
Krishna is seen as important to India’s pace attack, while selectors are keen to have Rana available in both formats and Pant is expected to be a key batter in the two-Test series.
The team is expected to leave on October 28, with the ODI series starting November 4 and the first Test scheduled for November 19.
The selectors are likely to wait as long as possible before announcing the squads, and India is expected to play a warm-up match before the first Test.
India’s selection committee is expected to delay naming the ODI and Test squads for the New Zealand tour while it assesses the fitness of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Rishabh Pant.
The squads are expected to fly out on October 28, ahead of the ODI series scheduled to begin on November 4.
Krishna has been given a three-week recovery timeline after discomfort in his left hamstring, while Pant is unavailable for the first two India A four-day matches because of a side strain.
Rana is expected to undergo a return-to-play match simulation, and selectors and team management are keen to consider him for both formats.
- Who
- India’s selection committee is deciding the ODI and Test squads; the fitness of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Rishabh Pant is a factor.
- What
- Selection is expected to be delayed while the team waits for updates on the players’ fitness.
- When
- The ODI series is scheduled to start on November 4, 2026; the squads are expected to fly out on October 28.
- Where
- The tour is in New Zealand.
- Why
- The selectors are waiting for the fitness status of Krishna, Rana and Pant.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Krishna walked out of the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati after discomfort in his left hamstring.
The Times of India reported that selection was likely to be delayed while selectors awaited fitness updates.
Pant is unavailable for the first two India A four-day matches, which are scheduled to start on this date.
The ODI and Test squads are expected to fly out for the tour.
The ODI series is scheduled to start.
- Players under fitness review
- Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Rishabh Pant
- Krishna’s recovery timeline
- Three weeks
- India A matches Pant will miss
- First two four-day matches, starting October 24
- Expected squad departure
- October 28, 2026
- ODI series start
- November 4, 2026
4 sources
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What people are saying
With both Pant and Krishna, the injuries don’t look severe at the outset. But the CoE doesn’t want to take any chances. That’s why both of them were given threeweek timelines when they reported to CoE
The selectors and team management are keen to have Rana in both formats, and he is seen as a perfect fit as the seam-bowling allrounder batting at No. 8