Rishabh Pant is set to fly out to New Zealand next week and is likely to turn out for the first Test in Wellington from Nov. 19, TOI has learnt.On Thursday, Pant posted a video of himself training at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, where he underwent rehab for a side strain. In the clip, he is seen batting in the nets without any discomfort.“Pant is set to fly out to New Zealand next week. He will be available for the first Test,” sources said.On Thursday, reports emerged that Pant is set to miss the third India ‘A’ fixture against New Zealand ‘A’ in Lincoln, starting Saturday, as he continues to recover from the side strain.Among the Test specialists, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are both set to feature in the match as part of their preparation for the Tests, while T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma has joined the India ‘A’ squad in Lincoln as a replacement for Pant.Prasidh Krishna, meanwhile, is also likely to feature in the ‘A’ fixture as he looks to regain match fitness after spending the past three weeks undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring strain.Prasidh was cleared to play all formats but was not rushed back into the ODI squad in order to keep him fit for the Tests. He was replaced in the ODI squad by seamer Auqib Nabi, who was pulled out of the second India ‘A’ match.The first two games of the ‘A’ series ended in draws. Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel have been among the leading run-scorers while Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to form with a 155 not out in the previous game at the Hagley Oval.Released from the ODI squad, Nitish Reddy is also expected to get some game time with the red ball.Meanwhile, New Zealand ‘A’ will be missing the services of pacers Simon Keene and Fraser Sheat.
