Rahul, Jaiswal picked for India A's red-ball matches in New Zealand

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, India's first-choice opening pair in Tests, will have an opportunity to build towards the two-match series in New Zealand by featuring in three red-ball games for India A on the shadow tour beginning October 26 in Lincoln.

The squad led by Dhruv Jurel also features Rishabh Pant, whose inclusion is subject to fitness. Pant led Rest of India to victory over Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir in the Irani Cup in Srinagar last week. However, it's unclear what injury he is suffering from.

Earlier in the week, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) also confirmed Pant had made himself unavailable for the Ranji Trophy opener from October 11. The first round is set to feature a number of India regulars, including Rahul and Washington Sundar, who was pulled out of the T20I series against West Indies to gain some match time in the longer format.

Devdutt Padikkal, India's Test No. 3 during their recent tour of Sri Lanka, is also named in the squad alongside B Sai Sudharsan, who returned to action from a toe injury during the India A series against Australia A in Puducherry.

Ravichandran Smaran was handed a maiden India A call-up on the back of a strong showing for Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Named Karnataka captain for the Ranji season opener in Padikkal's absence - he's part of India A's 50-over squad playing against Australia A - Smaran struck 68 and 135 in Rest of India's 167-run win.

Two other performers from the match - seamers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar - are also part of the tour party. Akash returned to action after a seven-month injury layoff and picked up six wickets in the match, while Mukesh - who played the most recent of his three Tests in 2024 - picked up a six-for in the second innings to seal victory.

The other pacers in the squad include Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, also fresh off a five-for in the Irani Cup, and Auqib Nabi, the highest wicket-taker across India during the 2025-26 Ranji season with 60 wickets. Nabi, who is also set to feature in the Ranji opener, made his ODI debut during last week's second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati.

Washington and Manav Suthar are the two frontline spinners in the squad. Suthar, India's standout bowler during their Test series win in Sri Lanka, is coming off a county stint for Warwickshire, where he picked up 14 wickets in four games.

Vidarbha's Yash Rathod is likely to be the back-up batter. He impressed for India A in the recently concluded second unofficial Test against Australia A, hitting a solid 80 to avert defeat on the final day on a turning track.

The squad is set to depart for New Zealand on October 16, with the first game slated to be played on October 26. The second game will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch before the tour wraps up in Lincoln on November 10.

India's two Tests - part of the ongoing WTC cycle - will be played between November 19 and December 1 in Wellington and Christchurch respectively. This will be their first Test tour to the country since February-March 2020.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant (wk)*, Dhruv Jurel (capt, wk), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar