KL Rahul and
Yashasvi Jaiswal,
India‘s first-choice opening pair in Tests, will have an opportunity to build towards the two-match series in New Zealand when they feature in three red-ball games for India A on the shadow tour beginning October 26 in Lincoln.
The squad, led by Dhruv Jurel, also features
Rishabh Pant, whose inclusion is subject to fitness. Pant led Rest of India to victory over Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir in
the Irani Cup in Srinagar last week. It’s unclear what Pant is suffering from, though there have been unconfirmed reports that he has been down with the flu, picked up during the Irani Cup game.
Earlier in the week, the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) confirmed Pant had made himself unavailable for the Ranji Trophy opener from October 11. The first round is set to feature
a number of India regulars, including Rahul and Washington Sundar, who was pulled out of the T20I series against West Indies to gain some match time in the longer format.
Devdutt Padikkal, India’s incumbent Test No. 3, has also been named in the squad alongside
B Sai Sudharsan, who returned to action after a toe injury during the ongoing India A series against Australia A in Puducherry.
R Smaran was handed a maiden India A call-up on the back of a strong showing for Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Named Karnataka captain for the Ranji season opener in Padikkal’s absence – he’s part of India A’s 50-over squad playing against Australia A – Smaran struck 68 and 135 in Rest of India’s 167-run win.
Two other major performers from the match – seamers
Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar – are also part of the touring party. Akash Deep returned to action in that game after a seven-month injury layoff and picked up six wickets in the match, while Mukesh – who played the most recent of his three Tests in 2024 – picked up a six-for in the second innings to seal victory.
The other fast bowlers in the squad include Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary – also fresh off a five-for in the Irani Cup – and Auqib Nabi, the highest wicket-taker during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season with 60 wickets. Nabi, who is also set to feature in the Ranji opener, made his ODI debut in last week’s second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati.
Washington and Manav Suthar are the two frontline spinners in the squad. Suthar, India’s standout bowler during their Test series win in Sri Lanka, is coming off a county stint for Warwickshire, where he picked up 14 wickets in four games.
Yash Rathod is likely to be the back-up batter. He impressed for India A in the second unofficial Test against Australia A recently, hitting a solid 80 to avert defeat on the final day on a turning track.
The squad will leave for New Zealand on October 16, with the first game starting on October 26 in Lincoln. The second game will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch before the tour wraps up in Lincoln on November 10.
India’s two Tests – part of the ongoing WTC cycle – will be played between November 19 and December 1 in Wellington and Christchurch respectively. This will be India’s first Test tour in New Zealand since February-March 2020.
India A squad for tour of New Zealand
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant (wk)*, Dhruv Jurel (capt, wk), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar
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