Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two matches of India A's multi-day series against New Zealand 'A', with Kumar Kushagra named as his replacement.

Pant sustained a left side strain while captaining Rest of India in the Irani Cup. His availability for the third match will be assessed later.

Pant's original selection for the series in preparation for the Tests had been subject to fitness clearance. His absence from the opening two games means Dhruv Jurel, who was named captain of the side, will also serve as the first-choice wicketkeeper for those matches, with Kushagra providing an additional option behind the stumps.

The 21-year-old Kushagra has been in fine form in the red-ball format, having scored two hundreds in his last three first class games. This includes a ton in the Duleep Trophy final as well as one against the visiting Australia 'A' side in Puducherry.

The 'A' series in New Zealand, which features several Test regulars, will serve as the ideal build up for the two-Test series key to India's World Test Championship hopes.

The series will begin on October 24 in Lincoln, followed by the second match in Christchurch on October 31 and the final game back in Lincoln on November 7.

India A’s updated squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel (c&wk), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar, Kumar Kushagra [wk] (1st and 2nd matches).