In what will come as a huge relief to Shubman Gill and the Indian Test team, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has got his fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and will travel to New Zealand soon. As Cricbuzz previously reported, Pant underwent two fitness and simulation tests on November 10 and 11 before gaining the CoE approval on Thursday (November 12).

Pant picked up a side strain while leading Rest of India in the Irani cup in early October. He had been rehabilitating at the CoE since.

When India announced the Test squad for the two-game series in New Zealand, Pant was picked with an asterisk to his name, as his inclusion was subject to fitness clearance. Though he didn't make it in time for three unofficial Tests for India A in the build up, where a lot of the Test regulars featured for red-ball tune-up, he has regained full fitness in time for the Test series.

The first fixture of that series will begin on November 19 in Wellington while Christchurch will host the second Test from November 27.