Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has ended all sorts of speculation around Rishabh Pant's availability for the India vs New Zealand second Test set to begin at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Wednesday (October 23).
"Absolutely," Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference on the eve of the fixture when asked whether or not the wicketkeeper-batter would play.
"I think he's going to keep wickets tomorrow. no other fitness concerns," he added.
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Notably, Pant had sustained a blow to his knee while attempting a stumping in the first innings. The southpaw did not keep wickets for the remainder of the Test. While he did come ou to bat in India's second innings, he looked uncomfortable while running between the wickets during his 99-run knock.
India's Playing 11 For IND vs NZ 2nd Test Not Yet Announced
While Pant's return to India's Playing 11 may have been confirmed, India are yet to announce their Playing 11 for the second Test match. India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate may have hinted that KL Rahul's exclusion fron the side with Shubman Gill returning from an injury and Sarfaraz Khan likely to retain his place after having smashed a 150 in the series opener.
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However, India's bowling compostion remains undecided. Their reading of the pitch, which captain Rohit Sharma admitted to having 'misjudged', promptet them to go with three spinners and two seamers in Bengaluru. The same will dictate what team they go ahead with in Pune and whether or not Akash Deep comes into the scheme of things for the Men in Blue who are 0-1 down after losing the first Test.