Pant keeps the gloves if the Centre of Excellence clears him on 12 November, and Jurel stays on as the second keeper for the first Test in Wellington on 19 November. A failed test flips that order: Jurel keeps, and India lose a batter who averages above 43 in Tests. The reason for the assessment is a side strain from the Irani Cup. India’s squad of 16 lists both keepers, and only one of them travels as the first choice, so the verdict settles the slot.
Two Days of Simulation Rounds
Pant goes through two simulation rounds at the Centre of Excellence, one on 11 November and one on 12 November. No result has been announced, though the indications lean toward clearance. A pass sends him to Wellington on 12 November itself, so the second round and the flight fall on the same day, and the call has to come early. A fail means Jurel travels as the only keeper, and the squad has no third option.
The injury is a side strain from the Irani Cup. The first Test starts in Wellington on 19 November, and the second follows in Christchurch from 27 November. Eight days separate the two starts, so whoever keeps in Wellington will most likely keep in Christchurch as well. A Pant who lands on 12 November gets a week of preparation at best, and Jurel would have had that same week as the only fit keeper.
Rishabh Pant Fitness Test Before the New Zealand Tests
India named 16 players for the series, with Gill as captain and Rahul as vice-captain. Pant is listed as a wicketkeeper next to Jurel, but his place carries a condition: it holds only if the Centre of Excellence signs him off. Jaiswal, Padikkal, Jadeja, Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep, Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Kamboj, Nitish Reddy and Sudharsan complete the group. The keeper’s job is the one open question in a squad that otherwise looks settled.
Pant arrives with more than 3,500 Test runs at an average above 43. In Sri Lanka in August he made 66 off 69 balls at Galle (a strike rate near 96) and 63 off 89 at Colombo (near 71). He kept wicket at Galle, but a blow to the forearm at Colombo made him give up the gloves. India want him in the XI as a batter even before the keeping question comes up.
Jurel’s Case for the Gloves
Jurel has 651 runs at 40.68 from 12 Tests, including two hundreds. In Sri Lanka he scored 51 and 7 at Galle, then an unbeaten 115 at Colombo. Pant’s forearm blow at Colombo handed him the gloves, so he kept wicket in the game where he made that hundred. His average sits within three runs of Pant’s, though it comes from a much smaller sample of 12 Tests.
That Colombo match is his strongest argument, since a keeper who makes a century after a full day behind the stumps does not need Pant’s health to be part of the case. The gap between the two averages is small, which turns the choice into a question of experience and fitness more than of form. If Pant fails the test, Jurel keeps, and the batting order loses a player averaging above 43. If Pant passes, Jurel’s job is to wait.
WTC Points Riding on Wellington
India sit fifth in the WTC 2025-27 points table with 68 points from 11 Tests, a points percentage of 51.52. Each Test carries 12 points, so 68 of the 132 available points produces that figure. Australia had 87.5 and New Zealand 72.22 in August, so both sit well above India, with Australia more than 35 points clear. Seven Tests remain for India, two in New Zealand and five against Australia, and only the top two sides reach the final.
Two wins in New Zealand would lift India’s percentage to 58.97, while two defeats would pull it down to 43.59. That swing is more than 15 points of percentage, and any draw lands somewhere between the two figures. India last won a Test in New Zealand in 2009. Until the Pant fitness test before the New Zealand Tests gives a result, India cannot say who will keep wicket in Wellington.